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THIRTEEN YEARS IN 
MEXICO 

(FROM LETTERS OF CHARLES W. DREES) 



EDITED BY 

ADA M. C. DREES 




PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY 

THE ABINGDON PRESS 

NEW YORK 



Fit/s 
■D11 



Copyright, 1915, by 
ADA M. C. DREES 



SEP U1915 




'CU J J (J 069 
1/1^ . { 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface 5 

An Appreciation 7 

A Personal Word 9 

Chapter I 
Sailing for Mexico — Incidents of voyage — Havana — Arrival in 
Mexico City — First impressions — Death of Robert Butler — 
Visit to Pachuca — Fourth of July celebration — First sermon 
in Spanish — Guadalupe — Indians from Celaya 17 

Chapter II 
Removal to Puebla — First associate — Establishment of Boys' 
Orphanage — Arrival of Mr. Ludlow's family — Dedication of 
Chapel — Beginning of Theological Seminary — Bachelor's HaU 
— Visit to Apizaco — Visit to Cordoba — Special feast days 41 

Chapter III 
Arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Craver — Visit of his sister — Arrival of 
Mr. and Mrs. Siberts — First Revolution — ^Fighting in Puebla — 
Ai'rival of Mr. Luders — Death of Mr. Goethe 64 

Chapter IV 
Election of Porfirio Diaz — First mob attack^ — ^First vacation — 
Marriage — Return journey — Arrival in Puebla 78 

Chapter V 
Arrival of Bishop Merrill, Dr. Dashiell and Mr. Thomas Price — 
Annual Meeting — Indian boys — Visit to Atzala — Arrival of Miss 
Swaney — Visit to Los Reyes — Arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Barker 
and Miss Clara Mulliner — Murder of Indian boys' father — 
Another mob — Appointment to Superintendency 91 

Chapter VI 
Visit to Pachuca and Omitlan — Arrival of Dr. Gilman — Visit to 
Orizava and Cordoba — Visit to Guanajuato and Queretaro — Visit 
to San Vicente and Miraflores — Dedication of Chapel in Puebla 
— Visit to Vera Cruz and Cordoba- — AiTival of Mr. and Mrs. 
Umpleby 108 

Chapter VII 
An interesting story — Arrival of Bishop Harris — Visit to the In- 
terior — Purchase of property in Guanajuato — Tour of inspec- 
tion with Bishop Han'is — A priest's story — Removal to Mexico 
City — Arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Greenman — Visit to Pachuca 
and Tezontepec — Diligence experiences — Dedication of Chapel 
in Apizaco — Wreck of the City of Vera Cruz — Another journey 
to the Interior — Dedication of Chapel in Guanajuato 123 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 
CUAITER VIll 

Annual McetinR — Querctaro mob — Return to Mexico City — Visit 
to riuanrxjuato and Leon— Arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Kemble — 
Ileturn to (^ucntaro— Opening Services in (^ueretaro — Visit to 
Leon — 'J'oiir of I'achuca District — Another trip to the Interior 
— Illness of Mr. Luders — Arrival of Dr. Fuentes 140 

Chapter IX 
Property matters in Tulancingo — Journey to Vera Cruz — Arrival 
of Bishop Andrews — Arrival of Dr. Wood — Death of Mr. 
Luders — Visit to Interior — Appointed Treasurer — Vi.sit to 
Hiuitusco — Visit to Pachuca — Dedication of Chapel at Ileal 
del Monte — First R. R. journey to the Interior 163 

Chapter X 
Purchase of property in Orizava and Puebla — Visit home — Re- 
turn to Mexico ISl 

Chapter XI 
Arrival of Bishop ^\■arrcn and family — Ascent of Popocatepetl — 
Visit to an Indian town — Arrival of Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Smith 
— Death of first Protestant Minister in Querctaro — First through 
train on Mexican Central R. R. — Arrival of Miss Le Huray — 
Visit to Silao and Guanajuato — Arrival of Directors of Mexican 
Central R. R. — Visit to mountain district of Peubla — History 
repeats itself — Celaya Mob — 16th of September celebration — 
.^Vrrival of Miss Loyd — Inauguration of President Diaz 189 

Chapter XII 
Arrival of Bishop Harris and J. M. Phillip.s — Organization of An- 
nual Conference — Assault on Gamboa — Evangelistic tour with 
L. C. Smith — Visit to Sierra of Puebla — Arrival of Mr. and Mrs. 
Salmans — Special festivities at Guadalupe — Visit to District 
of Pachuca — Arrival of Bishop Foster 215 

Chapter XIII 
Distri(-ting of Conference — Bishop Foster's visit — American Hos- 
pital — Purchiise of i)roperty for Woman's Foreign Missionary 
Society in Mexico City — Tour of Pachuca District with L. B. 
Salmans — Visit to Morelia and Patzcuai'O — Special festivities 
of 16th of September — Call to South ^^jnerica — Departure from 
Mexico 229 

Appendix 

The Drees Family 244 

College Life 248 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Charles W. Drees, D,D., as he is to-day Frontispiece 

Mr. Drees as a College Student Facing page 78 

Mr. and Mrs. Drees at the time of their Departure 

from Mexico Facing page 229 



PREFACE 

An apology, if one be needed, for offering to the church 
at large, and to his personal friends in particular, some 
salient features of the biography of Charles W. Drees, 
and especially his experiences in Mexico, is found in the 
following letter written to Dr. J. M. Buckley, Editor of 
The Christian Advocate. 

We quote from the letter : "I certainly hope that your 
suggestion as to personal biographies of missionaries 
may be carried out, for in no other way can the whole 
church ever know what has been borne and done by these 
brave souls in strange lands, and amid scenes that can- 
not be imagined here, 

"In Mexico, for instance, where I had the honor to 
spend a few years of hard and dangerous service, there 
might be written a history surpassing Stevens's wonder- 
ful book on American Methodism, in elements of romance, 
heroic courage, and martyrdom for Christ's sake. 

''Among the early workers there whose names deserve 
to be immortalized in Methodist annals are the Butler 
family, father and son, inaugurators of the Mexican 
mission; Craver, the founder of that of Guanajuato; 
Siberts, the principal of Puebla Seminary; Smith, the 
evangelist and story-teller; Greenman, the invader of 
those two fanatical strongholds, Queretaro and Celaya; 
and Salmans, the medical missionary. 

"Besides these there were Monroy, Fernandez, Palacios, 
Loza, Gamboa, and other Mexican ministers, worthy to 
stand in the foremost rank. 

5 



6 PREFACE 

'•But, ninoiio: tlieiii all, Charles W. Drees stands con- 
spiiuoiis ;is the heroic leader of that little band who laid 
ili( re I lie iDundations of our work in the days of persecu- 
tion unto death. Physically as well as mentally an 
athlete, he was always ready in every time of peril, on 
the first indication of danger, to hasten to the threatened 
point and expose his life freely for the sake of the 
brethren, lie was a broad scholar, a constant traveler, a 
wise counselor, an able editor, a faultless financier. 

"(Signed) Duston Kemble." 

The letters fonnd in tliis book, written with no thought 
of their going beyond the limits of the home circle, and 
whose i)reservation is due to a mother's interest in them, 
are given publicity in their original form, believing that 
in their unaffected and familiar style they will be more 
attractive and serve better the ])nrpose in view, than a 
more formal account of the experiences related in them. 

A. M. C. D. 



AN APPRECIATION 

The experiences and achievements of Dr. C. W. Drees 
in Spanish America have been various and monumental, 
and those relating to Mexico are fairly but not extrava- 
gantly set forth in this volume. The writer has been his 
constant and sympathetic companion and co-worker, and 
has had no small share in the toils and triumphs here 
recorded. 

He graduated from the Ohio Wesleyan University in 
1871, and from the School of Theology of Boston Uni- 
versity in 1874, when he was appointed a missionary of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church to the Republic of 
Mexico. Here he spent twelve years, acquiring a thorough 
mastery of the Spanish language and carrying forward 
important work. In 1887 he was sent to Eastern South 
American, where he has spent twenty-one years, residing 
most of that period in Buenos Ayres, the capital of 
Argentine Republic. 

During an interval of four years he was stationed in 
Porto Rico, superintending the organization of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church in that island. At this writing 
he is in Spain, assisting in the revision of the Spanish 
Bible for which, by reason of his familarity with the 
Spanish language and scholarly attainments, he has 
special fitness. 

From 1888 to 1912, as Corresponding Secretary of the 
Missionary Society and of the Board of Foreign Missions 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, I was closely related 
to Dr. Drees, and gladly bear testimony to his fidelity, 

7 



8 AN AI'I'KKCIATION 

tlili<,'(Mi('0, ability, and snccpss. During a considerable 
l>ait of the lime spent in South America, Dr. Drees was 
treasurer of the mission and was noted for accuracy and 
skill in the nianaKement of financial affairs in general, 
and in not a lew crirH-il and inii)ortant instances. 

The cause of Protestant Missions in Spanish America 
will be greatly enhanc ed by the jniblication of this volume. 

New York Citv. A. B. Leonard. 



A PERSONAL WORD 

My part iu the responsibility for this book is limited 
almost absolutely and entirely to consent to its prepara- 
tion and publication; and such consent has been given 
only in deference to the opinion expressed by many who 
had come to know of the existence of the letters, of which 
it is almost entirely made up, that the account they 
contain of experiences as recorded at the time and with- 
out any expectation of their publication, or even of their 
preservation, would be of interest to many and of service 
to the cause of missions. 

The preservation of the letters, unknown and unsus- 
pected for all the years till long after our removal from 
Mexico to South America, was due to the tender love of 
a mother who could not bring herself to destroy any line 
that had come to her from her children so far from home, 
and passing through experiences which were often to her 
the occasion of keen apprehension and anxiety. 

It has seemed to me best that, if published at all, they 
should retain all the characteristics they bear as giving 
impressions and experiences of current days and events, 
unchanged by any process of later reflection or attempted 
completion. Here will not be found biography, nor his- 
tory, nor continuous travel description. There is no dis- 
cussion of problems of missionary theory or practice. 
Mexico as a mission field has found other authors to 
represent it, notably among them the first superintendent. 
Dr. William Butler, and his son, the Rev. J. W. Butler, 
D.D. Missions in Roman Catholic countries have been 



10 A PERSONAL WORD 

widely discussed iiiid advocated, and are better under- 
stood than when I was called into this lield. These letters 
may allord some illustrations of both themes, but they 
are uot an ordered discussion of them. 

My call to Mexico came within less than a year after the 
openinj; of the mission, and came throuj^h two magnificent 
leaders of the church. Bishops Gilbert Haven and 
Matthew Simpson. The former had preceded the newly 
appointed superintendent, Dr. \\'jlliam Butler, in enter- 
ing and exploring the field; had been joined by the latter,, 
and visited INiebla, which was to be my field, and fixed 
his uiind u])on the property which was to be the home 
of the mission and missionary in that city. 

His exph^ration accomplished, and the general lines of 
the projected work laid down in consultation with Dr. 
Butler, Bishop Haven took his journey homeward, over- 
land, full of generous enthusiasm, to look for money and 
men for the enterprise. It so turned out that on his 
way he spent a Sunday in Xenia, Ohio, my ciiildhood 
home. Having preached in the forenoon in the First 
Church, both churches united in the evening at Trinity, i 
to hear an address by the bishop on Mexico. 

At its close, with many of the C(»ngregation, my jtarents i 
were introduced to the bishop with the remark that they i 
had a son in preparation at Boston for the ministry'. ; 
Turning to my mother, the bishop said : "You have a I 
boy in Boston Theological Seminary? Will you give 
him to me for Mexico?" The answer was a prompt nega- 
tive, and not till long afterwanl did the mother say a 
word of the pang that shot to her heart with the bishop's 
demand. 

\ little inoi'e than a year later, her boy was at Iiome 
for the farewell visit, the uuthought-of having come to 
pass; and in one of those holy confidences between mother 
and son, she i<dd of the secret struggle and victory that 



A PERSONAL WORD 11 

had brought her to assure lier boy that he would go 
with her free consent and blessing. 

It was from Bishop Simpson that I received my epis- 
copal appointment. He had just returned from his visit 
to Mexico, and brought back the urgent plea of the 
superintendent for reinforcements, the first response to 
which was to be given in the appointment of John W. 
Butler and myself to that field. 

That prince of pulpit orators and great missionary 
secretaries, Dr. Thomas M. Eddy, gave me my ofiQcial 
notification of acceptance by the board for Mexico, and 
my instructions for the field. He was, if I mistake not, 
a native of Ohio, and his father had been my mother's 
pastor in her youth and received her into the church. 

But for the limitations of its plan, there would be 
much to say, in these pages, of the chief under whom I 
served my apprenticeship, and of my associates during 
the period of my service in Mexico. What space permits 
I may as well set down here. Of the former. Dr. William 
Butler, what need to write? His name and service are 
an open book, knoAvn and read of all men. His experience 
of Roman Catholicism in youth, his conversion at a Meth- 
odist altar of prayer, and his service as secretary of the 
American and Foreign Christian Union, had peculiarly 
fitted him to understand the need of missions in Roman 
Catholic countries, and the methods which would most 
contribute to their success. The prestige acquired in his 
service in India, his power as an orator, the intensity of 
his emotional nature, his utter forgetfulness of all minor 
sacrifices in enthusiasm for his work, made him an in- 
spiring leader, and fitted him in a peculiar manner for 
representative action in relation with the authorities 
of the church and with those of the country' in which he 
labored. His vision was broad and his faith in God 
triumphant. 



12 A PERSONAL WORD 

Aiiioiij; my associates 1 canuot count Dr. Thomas 
Carter, tlie lirst iiiissionary sent out after the opening of 
(he mission. His stay was brief, although his service 
must liavi' been of importance in tlie first stages of the 
work, as he had acquired some knowledge of Spanish in 
South America, where I was to find in after years abiding 
fruits of his .service in that field. He had returned to the 
I'nited States before my arrival in Mexico. 

Of Dr. Carter's successor, Dr. William H. Cooper, I 
have only recollections of veneration and gratitude. He 
was somewhat advanced in years, an Anglican clergyman, 
who had acquired a fine command of Spanish while in 
.service as resident chaplain in Malaga, Spain. He ac- 
cepted appointment to the pastorate of our Mexico City 
clnirch, and held that post for nearly two years, tiding 
the work over the period to elapse before the regular con- 
stitution of our mission staff. To his kindness and un- 
l)aid tutorship, .supplementing the services of my Spanish 
teacher, 1 was much indebted lor progress in acquir- 
ing the language, and to his encouragement was largely 
due the fact that I was able, within a little over four 
months after my arrival in Mexico, to essay my first 
sermon in Spanish. It was written and read from the 
piilj)it, but was followed almost immediately by exteni- 
iMiiiineoiis address in outlying points, and soon in the 
cential cliurch in Mexico City. 

The oiganization of the regular staff of missionaries 
began, jiractically, with the ai>iiointnient of John W. 
Huth'r and myself ti) the lield. In be followed two years 
later by Samuel 1'. Cra\er and Samuel W. Siberts, who 
came out as married missionai-ies. We four formed the 
first quaternion at the orders of o\ir chief. We had been 
fellow students in the liosloii School ol' Tlieology, and, of 
course, had many things in common. 

Later came .1. M. Barker and 0. S. Umpleby, also from 



A PEKSONAL WORD 13 

Boston; A. W. Greenman and Duston Kemble from Gar- 
rett Biblical Institute; L. B. Salmans and G. B. Hyde 
from Drew Theological Seminary; and L. C Smith, who 
had passed his missionary apprenticeship in the "Taylor 
Missions" in Chile, and was full of evangelistic zeal. 

We were a congenial band of workers ; knew each other 
well; with little disparity in age between us. We knew 
each other's faults and foibles, as well as virtues; we 
could differ in judgment, give and take in discussion, and, 
above all, rally ever to the standard. The friendships 
formed were abiding, and it was my good fortune to be 
associated with some of the band in later years in South 
America, where the needs of the work called for others 
as well as myself. 

Greenman, Graver, and Siberts of the parent board, 
and Misses Le Huray, Swaney, and Hewett of the 
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society, all were trans- 
ferred to South America, in response to the call of emer- 
gencies in that field. 

Of the missionaries of the Woman's Foreign Mission- 
ary Society, my associations were chiefly with Misses 
Hastings and Warner, who had preceded me in arrival, 
and with Misses Swaney, Le Huray, Mulliner, and Loyd. 
These women entered upon the field, faced its difficulties 
and discouragements, solved its first problems in relation 
with the womanhood of Mexico, won its first successes in 
Mexico City, Pachuca, and Puebla, and laid the founda- 
tions of the magnificent work whose marvelous develop- 
ment is the pride of their society and of the mission. 

Over the names of the Mexican brethren of that period 
one would delight to linger and preserve here the me- 
morial, were it not already written in the deeds they 
wrought and the service they rendered to the cause of the 
reformation of their native land. Felipe N. Cordova, a 
soldier of his countiy in the vindication of its liberties 



14 A T»ERSONAL WORD 

before he betanie a soldier in the cause of its moral and 
s|»iritual rofreneration ; Simon Loza, broup:ht to Christ 
iiud 1 rained in serviee for a widely useful ministry under 
the influence of S. P. Craver; Monroy, the martyr, and 
Ferniuidez and Espinoza, the pioneers; Austin Palacios, 
former priest and distinguished servant of Konie until 
he became one of the very first converts to the truth of 
the gospel and, after much and effective service in arous- 
ing his countrymen, brought to Methodism the tribute of 
his ripest ministry — these with others formed the older 
staff. 

Then came the men who formed the first classes in the 
Theological Seminary, which it fell to me to establish in 
I'uebla. They were my "boj^s," if I may venture to make 
use here of the familiar term; Luders, at once student 
and teacher, Abundio Tovar, Emigdio Coronel, Conrado 
(Janiboa, Justo M. Euroza, Pedro Flores Valderrama, 
Severo Lopez, Benjamin N. Velasco, and after them Nor- 
bert Mercado, Ignacio Chagoyan, and others. 

Memories of them, or most of them, in the class room, 
of their oi)ening work in the field after they had been 
thrust out to complete their preparation, Methodist 
fashion, in the itineracy, of their trials and triumphs, of 
long leagues on horseback with them in the sierras of 
I'uebla and Hidalgo, and over the plains of Guanajuato, 
mostly unwritten history — but service inwrought with 
llie development of the Mexico mission — of all this only 
the barest mention may here be made. 

Of those name<l, only N'alderrama, now worthily wear- 
ing the title of Doctor of Divinity, and President of the 
Metluxlist Institute of Piu'bla ; ^'elasco, also eminent for 
siMvice in the educational field; Lopez, long a district 
superintendent; Chagoyjin. vectMitly succeeding to that 
title; and Mercado, :n-e si ill in llu^ Mexico Conference, 
forming with the goodly iiiniihcr of their associates the 



A PERSONAL WORD 15 

aggressive leaders of Mexico Methodism, and a part of 
the larger force for the working out of the new future 
of their country. 

It was my fortune to know Mexico in and out of revolu- 
tion, in war and in peace, and however one must interpret 
the recurrent trials and struggles of that country, he 
may be permitted to record his unshaken faith that out 
of all the turmoil, and in spite of reaction and conflict, 
there will come a future in which that beautiful land 
and its people will emerge into a larger life of peace and 
material prosperity, of moral and spiritual excellence 
whose most vital cause will be the influence of the gospel 
of the Son of God and Saviour of men. 

Charles W. Drees. 

Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain. 



CHAPTER I 

(On the eve of sailing) 

New York, April 24, 1874. 
My DEAR Mother : 

I am sitting in the Mission Rooms while I write you 
this letter. I reached New York Wednesday evening, 
and had on the whole a pleasant journey, saving a terrible 
headache, which kept me awake most of Tuesday night. 
I succeeded, however, in sleeping it off toward morning, 
and felt quite well when I arrived. 

I had many very conflicting thoughts and feelings dur- 
ing that day, which I need not put on paper now. It 
is enough to say that, being consciously in the path of 
duty, I trust God and go forward. 

I went to the Irving House immediately on my arrival, 
where I am to stay till the steamer goes. Came up here 
yesterday morning and saw Brother Butler and Dr. Eddy. 
Now for the result of my conference with the latter. It 
is expected that Brother Butler and myself will remain 
in the City of Mexico for a few months studying the 
language, and probably preaching frequently in English. 
Then he is to go to Orizaba or Pachuca, and I to Puebla. 
This is conditional upon the state of things in the country. 

As for furloughs, they will be more frequent than from 
other foreign countries, how frequent I cannot tell. My 
address will be 5 Calle de Gante, City of Mexico, Mexico. 
Much love to all, from Charlie. 

P. S. — I have just received from Boston a gift of a full 

17 



IS TTTTTJTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

set of Olshausen's Commentary, covering nearly all the 
New Testiuiiont, seven or eifjjht volumes. I liad it on 
the list of books I wanted to buy. The gift was wholly 
unexpected, but all the more acceptable. A very kind 
letter accompanied it from friends in Bromfield Street 
Church, IJiuthcr Sleeper and others. The Lord is very 
good to iiK' tlii'oii'nh his children. C. W. D. 

(To his mother) 

Off Florida Reefs, April 30. 

It was a rainy, disagreeable daj"^ when we left New 
York, so stormy, indeed, that none of our friends were 
at the pier to see us off, save Brother Terry, who went 
down with me, but had to leave before we sailed. Between 
three and four o'clock we moved oil' amid the farewells of 
friends who were being separated, the waving of hand- 
kerchiefs and with the firing of a salute from the ship's 
gun. As we went down the Bay it became evident that 
(piite a gale was blowing outside, and when we neared 
Sandy Hook we saw a number of other steamers and 
sailing vessels which had anchored there for the night 
to wait for more propitious weather. The pilot recom- 
mended the same course to our captain, and he reluc- 
tantly yielded and we soon learned that we were to wait 
there till Sunday morning. The vessel was already roll- 
ing considerably, and most of the passengers seemed to 
tind it advisable to seek their berths. 

Early Sunday morning we got under way again and 
were soon outside of Sandy Hook, bade farewell to our 
pilot, and were fairly launched on our voyage. My two 
traveling companions, John and Robert Butler, were too 
far gone with seasickness to get up. I was able to go to 
brcakfjist. but soon had to give up and go to bod also. 
.Ml day long the sea ran very high, and the ship tossed 
fcarfnlly. Nc.-n-ly cvorvbndv was sick. Things in our 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 19 

stateroom kept up a lively motiou, tumbling about with 
every lurch of the shi]). Things within us kept time to 
the general commotion, as was testified by very unequiv- 
ocal demonstrations, Robert, who is a natural tease, 
full of life and spirits, had been brimming over with 
mischief Saturday night, but was so sick all day Sunday 
that we heard not a word from his stateroom, which is 
next to ours. 

I have often read of the feelings of wanderers leaving 
home and country, on losing sight of their native shores, 
but could not say that I partook of them very fully, and 
was half inclined to reproach myself for my insensibility. 
I think, however, I had them in full measure when I left 
home and during the journey from Xenia to New York. 

Monday was a delightful day, and with a smooth sea 
and fair weather, most of the passengers were well, and 
out again, and we began to find out who our neighbors 
were, and to make acquaintances. Tbere are twenty or 
tliirty cabin passengers, some of them Mexicans, Cubans, 
and Frenchmen. The party sitting opposite us at table 
are very pleasant people from New l^'ork, a lady with 
her son and daughter. We six with the captain, at whose 
end of the table we sit, make quite an agreeable company. 

We have been coasting along just out of sight of land 
until early this morning, when we sighted the low and 
sandy coast of Florida. We are now heading for the 
island of Cuba, which we shall see in the early morning. 
The only occurrences that have awakened interest have 
been the sight of an occasional school of porpoises, keep- 
ing along with the shij) for a time, and then falling be- 
hind; numbers of flying fish and sharks, and this after- 
noon several turtles. We passed to-day a large steamer 
aground on one of the reefs, with wreckers around her. 
We shall stay at Havana two days and then sail for Vera 
Cruz, stopping at Progreso and Campeachy. 



20 tiiikti:i:n yeaks in Mexico 

As to the prospect for luy work, I tliiuk, on the whole, 
it is encouriij{:in{?. A lady ou board, the wife of a gentle- 
111:111 living' ill the northern part of Mexico, assures me^ 
llicre is no real danjjer to life in the country. The murder 
of Stevens occurred in a town which is almost wholly 
Indian, a place of thieves and robbers. She says it was 
a sui'prise oven to Mexicans p^enerally, and was not ap- 
proved by tliem. She has great faith in President Lerdo's 
government. She tells me also of many things which 
seem great obstacles to evangelization, but tlie}' only prove 
the great need of gospel light and influence which exists 
in the country. . . . 

Tlie account of tlie rest of the voyage is given in his 
first letter written from the City of Mexico, early in May: 

We steamed past Morro Castle and through the narrow 
entrance to the harbor, and came to anchor about two 
o'clock, Friday afternoon. The health officer, Chief of 
Police, and Custom House officials soon came on board, 
;md we received special permission to go on shore, the 
captain of the steamer vouching for our character. 

Havana is under martial law, as I understand, and the 
greatest watchfulness is observed to prevent suspicious 
characters from going ashore, and to prevent Cubans 
from fleeing the country to escape conscription. All the 
new piissongers who came on board here were compelled 
(o show written jierniits to leave the country. One young 
mail and two ladies who had come on board were com- 
pcliccl, almost at the last moiuent, to take their luggage 
and go back. They looked miserable indeed. 

Our parly consisted of a very polite Frenchman who 
acted as guide, a Mexican, son of the treasurer of the re- 
piihlic. Mrs. T., with her son and daughter, a Scotch- 
iiiaii. the tun Itidtiiers Butler, and myself. We went in 
the <'liief of Police's boat and weie soon roAved over to 
the landing place. From there we walked up to the plaza 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 21 

of the Captaiu General's palace, a beautiful little park 
filled with trees and flowers, whose freshness and beauty 
were very grateful to us who had been for a week tossed 
on the great deep. 

Thence we walked a short distance further to the cathe- 
dral. It is built of yellowish brown stone, with a facade 
ornamented with columns and niches. It is broken and 
scarred with the storms of centuries, and is not very 
prepossessing in its outward appearance, a fact which 
well prepares one for the pleasing surprise which awaits 
him on entering. The lofty pillars and arches support a 
ceiling richly carved and ornamented, and a dome whose 
windows of stained glass admit a dim radiance which 
greatl}' enhances the general effect of the structure. 
Just within the chancel rail in a niche of the wall, rest 
the ashes of Christopher Columbus. The tablet which 
closes the tomb bears a sculptured portrait of the great 
discoverer and an appropriate inscription. Our con- 
ductor went after the key and, opening their place of 
deposit, showed to us some of the silver service formerly 
in use but now laid aside. 

Leaving the cathedral we secured four calashes, low, 
two-seated vehicles, drawn by donkeys or small horses, 
and in procession, single file, proceeded on our way. We 
attracted no little attention as we tlireaded the narrow 
streets. Many a black negress would stand on the foot 
path and display her ivory, or the place where the ivory 
ought to be, as we passed. 

The next place we visited was the Church of the Angels, 
of no great interest. Thence we debouched into the Paseo, 
or fashionable driveway of the city, a broad thoroughfare 
with a walk in the center, ornamented with long rows of 
trees. Turning from this we were soon at the church of 
Our Merciful Lady. This is a magnificent new church, 
not yet quite completed. It is very highly finished and 



22 TIIIKTEEN YEARS TN MEXICO 

elaborately decora led. The floor is of tesselated marble. 
The ceiling of the central nave is supported by lofty 
pillars and inches. The whole interior of walls, columns, 
and leiling is pure while, but the combination of different 
colored glass in the windows above diffuses over the whole 
a delicate, subdued tint that is almost pink. 

The high a liar is beautiful indeed in its gilding and 
drapery, it is crowned by a colossal figure of the 
Virgin whicli has just been completed. Heavy crim- 
son curlains corneal it from observation save at 
such times as it is desired to display it to the de- 
luded worshipers. The priest who conducted us asked 
if we were Protestants, and on learning we were, 
he look us uj) a flight of stone steps to the elevation on 
which the image is erected, and gave us opportunity for 
a close inspection, which would not probably be allowed 
I lie iiiiiltitude of Catholics whose subjection to the church 
is seemed largely by the air of mystery which surrounds 
the worship of Ihe mother church. Besides this nuiin 
altar there are in the church not less than six lesser 
shrines. Everywhere we saw the human mother of Christ 
exalted, while her divine Son, the Saviour, seemed almost 
ignored. Will the day ever come when these temples shall 
be consecrated to a purer worship, and filled with wor- 
shipers inspired with the power of a vilal Christianity? 

When we had completed our survey and freed ourselves 
from the garrulous priest, we found it was time to return 
to the sleamer, .so we bade farewell to our kind French- 
man and, taking a little boat, were soon in our quarters 
on board ship. That night we saw Havana as it ap- 
peared in the illnminalion of its Ihousand lights, and 
lalcr, as llic niooii lose and cast her soft radiance over 
bay and city, liidiii^f its (lefecls and bringing out its lines 
of beauly. 

W'c went aslioic again next nuiruing, and drove out to 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 23 

the Captain General's gardens, outside the city. As to 
my general impressions of Havana they are not very 
favorable. The streets are narrow and dirty, the houses 
look dilapidated, and the people one meets are dirty, and 
look as if all the true manhood in them had been per- 
verted and lost. 

Havana has a magnificent harbor. Its entrance is very 
narrow, not more than two hundred yards wide, but 
within is a large expanse of deep water, secure from 
storms, where a nation's commerce might find anchorage. 
There is ample opportunity for miles of wharfage where 
ships might unload their burdens, but not a single wharf 
has ever been built. Ships must lie at anchor off shore 
and discharge cargo into clumsy boats, called lighters, 
while passengers must be rowed ashore in small boats. 
All this is just as it was two hundred years ago. 

Finally, at sunset on Saturday, we heaved our anchor 
and steamed out past the old castle and lighthouse, and 
took our way westward to Progreso. We arrived there 
without incident, save that a rough sea kept many of the 
passengers sick all day Sunday. We were so unfortunate 
as to fall upon a national holiday, the 5th of May, the 
anniversary of the defeat of the French before Puebla. 
Not a man could be got to workj so we were delayed 
twenty-four hours, and lay idly swinging in the waters till 
the hot day, with no employment save to watch the 
sharks, which lingered about the ship, but could not be 
induced to take the baited hooks we threw overboard 
to them. 

At last we weighed anchor and were off to our last 
port before Vera Cruz. This was Campeachy, where we 
lay all Tuesday morning. Then, with a feeling of relief, 
we heard the creaking of the capstan as the anchor came 
slowly from its ocean bed, for it announced to us that we 
were entering upon the last stage of our journey. 



24 TUIHTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

All iiij^lil ami all dav l-'riday we plowed the waves, with 
the 8i)eecl of sleaiii and breeze, aud, just as the sun was 
Kinkiiif; bcliiiid the far iiilaiid siininiit of snow-crowned 
Orizaba, we tame to anchor in the harbor of N^era Cruz. 

Shorlly before this, we saw in a small boat at a dis- 
tance, Dr. Butler and one of his dauji;hters, waving wel- 
come to my two traveling companions. As soon as the 
health ollicers and customs otlicials had come on board and 
the way was clear, we took our satchels and went ashore, 
leaving our baggage to be forwarded by our agent in 
Vera Crnz. ^^'e had sui»i)er at the hotel and then went 
to call on the American Consul, Dr. Trowbridge, and at 
two o'clock in the morning took the train for Mexico City. 
At half jiast nine, Saturday evening, we found ourselves 
at our jouruey's end. I have been very kindlj' received 
by Dr. Butler and his family, and all the members of the 
mission, and will soon be at work. Indee<l, I began by 
preaching to the English congregation yesterday morning. 
1 did not feel in any condition to do it, but could not well 
avoid it. I did the best I could under the circumstances, 
bnt fear 1 did not create a very favorable impression. 

1 have so much to write that I have not time or space 
f(»r, that 1 scarce know what to leave out, though I must 
leave many things till the next mail. Letter writing is 
expensive in Mexico. I am comi)elled to i)ay twenty-five 
cents for every letter I receive, and for every letter 1 .send, 
as well as extra postage on all papers and periodicals. I 
wiiiild he ^dad if Von would mail me the Western, after 
you have rt-atl il at home. This until I get settled here, 
and tiud oiil what my expenses are to be, aud see how 
ninth I tan alVoni f.ii' periodicals. I cannot well get along 
wiihonl stinie papers frtini the Slates. I shonld lose the 
course of events and gel far behind the times. 

I think t»f you all very often. I littpc yon are not 
;in\ious alioiit nic. Tlii'i-t' is nti picseiit occasion for fear. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 25 

I shall be prudent and do my duty in the fear of God, 
and we can surely leave results with him. . . . 

(To his parents) 

Mexico City^ May 27, 1874. 

It is now more than five weeks since I left home, and 
not a word have I heard from you, but if the steamer is 
not delayed, I may expect to have letters next Saturday, 
and how eagerly do I await that day ! After this I may 
hope to have letters at least once in three weeks. 

I find my present place of abode very pleasant. Brother 
Butler and myself occupy temporarily a room on the 
ground floor of the mission premises. Our rooms are be- 
ing fitted up in the cloisters. The whole establishment 
is in the chaos and consequent discomfort incident to the 
necessary preparations to make it habitable. There are 
carpenters, masons, and painters making noise, dirt, and 
confusion everywhere. We are now beginning to see the 
end of the work at present projected. Dr. Butler moved 
in here three weeks ago, before the place was really com- 
fortable, in order to save another month's rent of the 
house before occupied. 

I have spent the last three weeks in studying, working, 
and idling, looking forward to the time when things 
shall be so fixed that it will be possible for me to really 
settle down. A Spanish teacher has been engaged, and 
we now have three lessons a week. I am picking up a 
little of the language, and hope by October to start out 
into my field of labor. I have surely every motive to 
prompt me to the most earnest work in the acquirement 
of the language. 

To give you an idea of the expense of living in Mexico, 
I need only say that I have to pay thirty-three dollars 
per month for my board. This includes lighting and fur- 
nishing my room, but not room rent, which of course is 



26 Tiiii;ji:i:x yeaks in Mexico 

iiothinj;. Washin«; is not included. Most of the ordinary 
cxpt'iiscs of li\ iii;4 \n.'vv. are iniuh liijjjher than in the States. 

I tiiid thai ilu* field of labor designated for me is | 
l'u('l>la di- los Angeles. As soon as I know enough Span- 
ish to know whether anyone accosting nie is a friend or 
foe, I am to go thither. The city of Puebla is the second 
city in inij)ortance in the republic, and is situated about 
ninety niiles southeast of Mexico City. It has sixty or 
seventy thousand inhabitants. It is the sacred city of 
Mexico, and is credited with being the most devotedly 
lioniisli of all Mexican cities. One attempt to establish 
Protestant services there several years ago was repulse<l 
by a mob; but the accounts of the affair which appeared 
in the States were more highly colored than the facts 
really warranted. The preacher had a quiet and orderly 
audience, until he began denouncing Catholicism in need- 
lessly intemperate terms, when he was assaulted by the 
enraged people and forced to flee over the roofs of the 
adjoining houses in order to escape. This attempt was 
not followed uj). 

Ten days ago one of our preachers held a quiet service, 
at which seventeen persons were present, and there was 
no disturbance whatever. We are conlideut that whoever 
goes there in the spirit of the gospel, to preach the truth 
will not only be protected, but will tind hearers. I think 
there is no cause for anxiety on your j)art in my behalf. 
Our church owns projicrty there, a part of the old In- 
quisition building. We propose to tit up in these prem- 
ises, which are (piite extensive, a chapel, mis.sionary resi- 
dence, boys' orphanage, and whatever else we need. I am 
fo liave a native preacher with me, and am to have su- 
perintendency of the orjdianage and school. 

My arrangements for living in Puebla are matters of 
no little concern to nic 1 shall have to furnish rooms 
for myself in the property we own, and, as boarding in 



THTRTEP^N YEARS IN MEXICO 27 

private families is uulinown in Mexico, I shall be com- 
pelled either to board at a hotel at exorbitant prices, or 
set up housekeeping — probably the latter. Imagine your 
boy keeping bachelor's hall in the Romish Inquisition 
whose walls are hallowed by the sepulture of the bones 
of martyrs, and haunted (?) by the troubled shades of 
the myrmidons of torture ! I shall have to keep a servant 
and porter, and all this for one! Herein appears the 
truth of that Scripture which saith, "It is not good for 
man to be alone." It is verj likely that no more un- 
married men will be sent to this field. The state of so- 
ciety and all habits of living are such as to make it much 
better that the missionaries should be married. Do not 
tiiink that I am very uneasy about this matter. I doubt 
not there is a way out of the difficulty, which Providence 
will in due time open up. 

One thing we shall need very much on opening our 
work in Puebla is a cabinet organ, to aid us in worship 
and in attracting the people to our services. Music is 
a wonderful attraction to this people. I have seen thirty 
or forty persons come into our little vestry at an ir- 
regular hour on Sunday, because they caught the sound 
of singing from the street. Several organs have been 
provided by si)ecial contribution by home churches for 
other places, and the thought was suggested to me of 
venturing to mention the necessity to the church at home, 
to see if Puebla could not be supplied in the same way. 
It would be a great pleasure to me to have it right from 
home, and to feel that it was the gift of my own old 
church. Two Imndred dollars would buy it, send it to 
us, and pay the duty on it. One thing only I must say, 
that this request, if responded to, must not interfere with 
the regular annual missionary collection. We might get 
into trouble at the Mission Rooms. It has been suggested 
that if you send an organ, you send also some one to play 



28 THIKTEION VJCAKS IN MEXICO 

it. A wise suggestion, but 1 doubt not if the Lord pro- 
vides us the iustiunieiil, he will seud the player also in 
due time. 

You will gather from this letter, some of the things 
which are tilling my time and thoughts in my new home, 
but in the midst of all my heart turns often and very 
fondly to the home ami dear ones I have left behind. Did 
I not believe God has a work for me to do here, from 
which I dare not turn away, nothing could persuade me 
to live in this land, so far away from all that I hold dear 
in this life. But, knowing I am in God's will and way, 
I am content and happy, and expect so to be wherever 
my work shall take me. . . . 

He writes, the following month, of the illness and death 
of Kobert Butler, one of his traveling comiianions, and 
the youngest sou of Dr. and Mrs. Butler: 

The disease was typhoid fever, which is at this season 
very prevalent in Mexico City. He had for fifteen months 
been ab.sent from his mother and family, and they had 
all been anticipating the joy of an unbroken family circle, 
when death came in less than four weeks after his arrival, 
and took him from them. 

He was a bright, intelligent young num, nineteen years 
of age. full of life and spirits, and ai)parently the most 
healthy of the family. How little do we know of the sad 
changes a few short days may bring I He left good as- 
surance of his salvation, a source of unsjieakable comfort 
to his parents. He was buried in the American Cemetery, 
the funeral being largely attciMltMl by both foreign citizens 
and Mexicans. 

Dr. Coofjer was to Iimnc picadicd tlu* ruiu'ial discourse 
on the next Sunday, before the English congregation, 
but on Saturday night, toward morning, he was suddenly 
seized with a very painful illne.ss, rendering a dangerous 



i 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 29 

surgical operation necessary, and it fell to me to take his 
place. It seemed a difficult thing to do; but the Lord 
helped me. 

Dr. Cooper is in charge of our Spanish congregation 
here. He is a man sixty years of age or more, was for- 
merly an Episcopalian clergyman, but now belongs to 
our church. He is of very great importance to our work 
here, as he is a man of large experience, excellent judg- 
ment, fervent spirit, and, withal, speaks Spanish fluently. 
We feared he was to be taken from us, but God spared 
him and he is already almost entirely recovered. 

At the urgent recommendation of the physician, we 
have laid aside our studies with our Spanish teacher for 
the present. He thought it hardly safe for us to apply 
ourselves so closely to study during the sickly season 
until we had become somewhat acclimated. Both Brother 
Butler and myself have, however, been quite well, and 
shall resume our studies soon. We have no time to lose 
in acquiring the language. 

I have been taking a good deal of exercise, riding horse- 
back every day or two. This is a very general practice 
in this country. Everybody rides and all are good horse- 
men. I hope to learn the art of riding so as to be master 
of the horse, as I shall have to journey much in this way 
in the prosecution of my work. 

Since I last wrote, our new rooms in the cloisters have 
been fitted up, and we have moved from the damp, un- 
comfortable, ill-ventilated room on the first floor to more 
comfortable quarters. We now have a study, lighted from 
the ceiling, and a bedroom opening from it. The windows 
of our rooms look out into the church which was once 
the "patio," or open court of the house. 

Last Sunday it was my turn to preach to the English 
people in Pachuca. I left Mexico at seven o'clock Satur- 
day morning and arrived at Pachuca at four in the after- 



30 TIIIKTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

iionii. 1'hc joiiiMicy is a lony; one of al)(»\it lorty miles by 
rail and iliiriy hy diligence, long not l)y i-oason of dis- 
laiue, bill fntin I he slowness of llie trains and the rongh- 
ncjss and tediousness of tlie dilij^ence ride. 

The man we sent to Pnebla to prospect for onr mission 
tJierc has returned and made liis rei)ort. The work there 
will be beset with many dillicnlties, bnt there are persons 
in that city ready to receive the word of life. The people 
besought liim not to come to their houses, as that wonbl 
expose them to the liatred of the papists, but the}' showed 
a willingness to receive tracts and portions of Scripture, 
and to come to his liouse secretly to liear the tmth. The 
light cannot long be tlius hidden. It must break forth 
and shine at any cost of danger and persecntion. He 
f(Hind one man who was one of the mob that assaulted a 
Trot est ant congregation with stones, four years ago, and 
he (xiiressed regret at having participated in the affair, 
and seemed almost ready to join himself to the people he 
once so hated. 

I think very often of my home and friends, and you all 
seem to me all the dearer, now that such a distance 
separates us. . . . 

Mexico Tity, July 11, 1874. 
Mv nEAR Mother: 

1 suppose you are now in the midst of summer heat, 
for it is the middle of .Inly. The dinnite of Mexico is 
sueh that, all hough within the the trojiics, I can hardly 
realize tli;ii it is midsniiiiuer. The dii-ect i-ays of the 
sun are very severe, but (»n the shady side of the street 
or in tlie house, the tempei-ature is never so high as to 
cause disc oniliiii or lassitude. The nights ai-e invariably 
cool, so that an overcoat is almost indisj»ensable on going 
out. and we p.iss no sleepless nights here on account of the 
heat. Then. tnci. we have entered ujion the rainy season, 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 31 

but you must not infer that we are living in the midst of 
a continual drench or drizzle from morning till night, and 
from night till morning. On the contrary the mornings 
are usually bright and sunny. I never saw them more 
beautiful. The air is cool and fresh, vegetation, freshly 
washed, shows to its best advantage, and the sidewalks 
are usually dry. But in the midst of this brightness and 
beauty, the mists are forming into clouds and gathering 
about the hills on the outskirts of the valley, and about 
four o'clock in the afternoon they sally forth over the 
plains, it is overcast, and rains. The evenings are often 
clear and star-lit, only the last remnants of the cloud 
canopy remaining in view. The streets and walks, heated 
by the morning sun, cause the water to evaporate very 
rapidly, and are quickly dry. This order of things is by 
no means invariable, but by far the most common. 

Since I last wrote the glorious Fourth has come and 
gone ! It was observed by the Americans in the valley of 
Mexico, by a grand banquet at the Tivoli del Ferrocarril. 
A large number of guests were present, including Presi- 
dent Lerdo, his cabinet, the foreign ministers resident, 
and other public men. There was the reading of the 
Declaration of Independence, toasts and speeches, singing 
and band music. Wine flowed in abundance, but there 
was little apparent intoxication. The affair lasted about 
five hours. 

The person of most interest to me was the President. 
He is a man of low stature, quiet face and demeanor, and 
temperate habits ; about forty or forty-five years of age, 
and unmarried. He seems to be a man of ability, and 
maintains a good government over this people, so prone 
to revolutions. The American Minister here is Colonel 
Foster, of Indiana. He is a cultured gentleman and an 
accomplished diplomat, in every way an honor to our 
country. He and his family are members of the Presby- 



32 TlllUTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

tt'i-iaii Cliuicli, and attend Sunday service in English 
very constantly. 

I met this woclc a man from Puebla, an American 
citizen, but by birtli a (Jerman Jew. He is very wealthy 
and is interested in our j^oing to Puebla, not from re- 
ligious but probably for j)ecuniary reasons. He promises 
all assistance and assures me that there will be jierfect 
safety there, if a judicious course is pursued. 

Our work here goes forward with man}' discourage- 
ments, some opposition and withal some signs of hope. 
To give you an idea of the estimation in which we are 
held by many of the people, I will wiite to you what 
jtropriety would otherwise forbid. It has twice occui-red. 
during tlic jiresent week, lliat when we have found rooms 
in portions of the city where we wish to establish service, 
and lunc attempted to secure them, we have been 
met with two c()nditions, imposed by the parties owning 
the j)roperty. The restrictions are these: first, that the 
room sluill not be used for a house of prostitution; and 
second, that it .shall not be use<l as a Protestant place 
of worship. You see in what company they put Protes- 
tants I No doubt the jtriests are at the bottom of this. 
They seem to be responsible for most of the bigotry. I 

We have very promising congregations in four sections 
<»f the city. The greatest obstacle we find is to get fit 
men to take charge of them. Those whom the mission is 
(•(unpelled to employ, do not understatid spiritual re- 
ligion at all, and the people, hungering for the bread of 
life, are nut fed. We are hoping and i)raying and labor- 
ing that ovir preachers may be converted and endowed 
with the Il(dy (ihost. 

This work must go forwaid. I am longing more and 
more foi- ability to speak to this peoj)le in their own 
language. They mauift'st such a longing for something 
betti'i-. ... I 



THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 33 

(To his mother) 

September 12, 1874. 

Since my last letter I have made another trip to 
Pachuca, to preach to the English congregation there and 
at Real del Monte, two leagues further on. I had a 
pleasant though somewhat wearisome journey, preach- 
ing twice, and riding twelve miles on horseback on Sun- 
day. Desiring to take the diligence Monday morning at 
six o'clock, I told the hotel keeper to have me called at 
five. He failed to do this, and when I waked and looked 
at my watch, it only lacked ten minutes of six ! You may 
imagine how I bounded out of bed, hurried on my clothes, 
and rushed through the streets, half dressed, to catch the 
stage! I succeeded, however, though I did not complete 
my toilet till we got to the railroad station, thirty miles 
away. 

The last three weeks I have been redoubling my dili- 
gence in the study of Spanish, and begin to feel as though 
I had made a commencement in the language. You can 
hardly conceive of the difficulty of learning a foreign 
tongue, so as to speak it. I began last week to take part 
in some of the public Spanish services, in reading the 
Scriptures and in prayer. I have not yet attempted to 
preach, but Dr. Cooper seems to think that, by using 
written sermons at first, I can begin in a few weeks. 
Thus I will be able to conduct service immediately, when 
T go to Puebla. 

To-morrow, which will soon be to-day, for it is nearly 
midnight, is my birthday, and I am twenty-three — not 
very old yet. I am happy, and expect to be, in my work, 
and can leave the future of my life in God's hands. I do 
not know what is in store for me, but I know that what- 
ever it is, it is best. 

I am sorry to say that I have not received any of the 
magazines you sent, nor a single paper since the six Ad- 



34 THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

vocates tliat canu' :i1 (»nce nine weeks ago. Are you sure 
they were legibly directed, and that you paid the right 
postage on thoin? The paper you now write on answers 
the purpose very well, and though it does not seem to 
save you anything, it saves me fifteen cents on every 
letter, so instead of paying fifty cents on such a one as 
I received to-day, when written on heavy paper, I now 
pay only thirty-five, and get just as much. So, be not 
weary in well doing, I yet carry the heavier end of the 
stick. . . . 

Before the end of this month he preached his first 
sermon in Spanish, reading from manuscript a short dis- 
course of ten pages which, he writes, cost him many hours 
of labor. He had already found that there is no royal 
road to the knowledge of Spanish or any other language, 
but the old one of hard, patient toil. In a letter, dated 
October 5, he writes : 

Surely there were never higher motives to inspire one 
in any i)ainful work than those I see before me all the 
time, in the hoi)e of being able to preach the blessed gospel 
to this people. 

I am very glad to be able to do even the little I now 
can, poor as it is, for it seems at least a beginning. 

Last Sunday I spent again in Pachuca and Real del 
Monte, itreaching in the morning, but taking such a cold 
that my voice left me in the afternoon, and one of the 
local preachers had to substitute for me. I had to ride 
six miles and back in tlie midst of a heavy rain which 
aggravated my cold. ;in<l I am n<»t yd free from it. It 
is more annoying Ihotigii tliaii jtaiiifnl. 

1 still conti'mphitc going to I'wcbla the first of Novem- 
ber, and Dr. Butler and I are now looking about to secure 
proper persons for the work there; a colporteur, teacher, 
and otiMTs to lak«' van- of the boys in tlic orphanage. I 
IiMiU fnrwaid to ilic near rcsponsiliilities of the work with 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 35 

anxiety, and earnest prayers for wisdom and guidance 
from above. 

So far as physical violence is concerned, I do not think 
we need to anticipate it at all. With prudence and dis- 
cretion, and above all with God's blessing and protection, 
I feel sure the gospel will find entrance there without 
that kind of opposition. With or without it, however, 
I am certain that Protestantism will ultimately take deep 
root in that city. . . . 

Mexico City, October 24, 1874. 
My dear Mother: 

The rainy season has really gone at last, and we are 
liaving charming weather. The days are cool, bright, and 
sunshiny, and the nights equally clear, with an atmos- 
phere which is very invigorating. It is now full moon, 
and there is a clearness of air and sky that makes the 
nights surpassingly brilliant. Last night there was a 
wonderful view of the two snow-clad volcanoes, almost 
dazzling white in the moonlight. 

We had an illustration this week here in Mexico of 
how the Lord can turn opposition into an occasion for 
victory. Preparations had been making to open a chapel 
in a part of the city never before invaded by Protestant 
worship. A priest, speaking of this, was overheard by 
one of our helpers to say that on the occasion of our 
largest congregation, he would do something to make 
his name famous in Mexico. 

The butchers also, in which the neighborhood abounded, 
averred that we should have to walk over their dead bodies 
to hold our first service. The authorities were informed 
of these threats and promised protection. Wednesday 
night was appointed for the opening, Dr. Cooper to 
preach. Though he was scarcely able to be out of bed, he 
went, I accompanying him. 



36 TIIIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO ! 

The ((uif^it'j^alion was \evy large, so that not nearly all 
<()iil(l gel into the room. A priest of a neighboring Ko- 
niish church who stepped in to see, became wedged in the 
crowd, could not get out and was compelled, for once, 
to hear a good earnest gospel sermon. There was not the 
slightest disturbance. 

Next day, messengers sent to the butchers by one in- 
terested in the success of our work, found them com- 
pletely changed. They say that kind of worship is all 
right, and seem now to be friendly. Last night we were 
there again. The congregation was large, orderly, and 
rcsjicctful. The door is open and no man can sliut it. 
The gospel must triumph, and that gloriously I 

As I close this letter at midnight, the moon is in total 
eclipse. I am in a sort of total eclipse myself, for the 
mail has conic and no letter from home. We are gieatly 
afTlicted in learning of the death of Dr. Eddy. He was a 
good man and an earnest worker. He was in special 
charge of the interests of this mission. Personally I feel 
as though I had lost a friend. May God sanctify this 
bereavement to the good of the church and raise up an- 
other to take up his work where he laid it down I Pray 
for us in Mexico. . . . 

Mexico City, December 8, 1874. , 
My dear Mother: ^ 

I received this evening a letter from Dr. Marlay, saying 
there would be some delay in getting the organ, but ex- 
pressing the hope that he will be able to send it. I shall 
be very glad and very thankful to have it, but my tenure 
of the work in Puebla will be no more permanent than 
that (»f any other Methodist i)reacher and I shall be 
liable, at any time, to be sent away from there to open 
Work in some new place. So, if my friends give the organ 
they must give it to the Lord and bis work, and not to me. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 37 

I shall rejoice in it just as much even though I should 
enjoy it myself only a short time. 

I am sending a small package of some things which I 
thought might interest you, by the hands of a party going 
to New York by the next steamer. Among them is a 
photograph of Benito Juarez, who was the last president 
of the republic and whose public services covered the 
period when European intervention sought to set up a 
monarchy on the free soil of the Western continent. 

There are also some ribbons, bought at the shrine of 
Our Lady of Guadalupe. The one with the black line 
printed in the middle has been touched to the face of the 
image of the Virgin and so is said and believed to be a 
charm efficacious in the healing of all diseases. You may 
try its powers as necessity may arise and your faith is 
strong! I send also a small photograph of the image of 
this Virgin. The superstition is one that holds a mighty 
sway over this nation. This is the history of it. 

It was soon after the Conquest by Oortez, and though 
the Cross and the Virgin had supplanted the horrid 
Aztec deities in the temples of the land, the people still 
clung to the old faith of their fathers. One morning in 
1531, an Indian was wending his way to Mexico when, 
as he was passing over a lonely mountain standing in the 
plain three miles from the city, he saw the figure of a 
woman descending from the clouds. It proved to be the 
mother of Christ, who told the astonished man that she 
had determined to become the patron saint of the In- 
dians, and take them under her special protection. 

He was to go to the city and tell the archbishop a 
church must be built to her at the foot of this mountain. 
The bishop was unbelieving, and on reporting his rebuff 
to the Virgin next morning, she told the Indian to meet 
her there at the same hour on the following day. On 
going to the appointed place, he was told to go to the 



38 TUIKTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

top of tlu' mountain and till his blanke( with roses, 
which he would tiud there. Obediently he went, and fak- 
ing his burden of tlowers miraculously placed there, for 
none had ever j^rown there before, he went apiin to the 
bishop when, behold ! on opening his blanket, there was 
found painted uj)on it a picture of the Virgin in gorgeous 
apparel. Unbelief vanished, the churches were built, one 
at the foot, the other on the toj) of the hill; the Indians 
were converted in multitudes, and riches uncountetl 
flowed into the shrine of "Our Lady." The original nii- 
raculous portrait is still to be seen in a rich frame of gold, 
inlaid with diamonds and pearls. The motto on the pic- 
ture is, "God has not dealt so with any nation." This 
shrine is exceedingly popular among the Mexicans. 

Another famous shrine, "Our Lady of Kemedies," the 
shrine of the Spanish poi)ulatiou, as that of Guadalupe 
is of the Indians, has this history : When driven from the 
City of Mexico, with terrible slaughter, on the night of 
the "Noche triste," Cortez and his tired and wounded 
followers rested at a high hill, twelve miles distant. 
During their stay Cortez found, in a soldier's knapsack, 
a small wooden doll about eight inches high, which the 
man had brought from Spain. The commander deter- 
mined to make u.se of this to inspire his broken spirited 
followers. He disjtlayed it to them, saying it was an 
image of the Virgin which she had sent him from heaven, 
promising to cure their wounds, secui'e their retreat, and 
the tinal conquest of Mexico. After the conquest, he built 
on this hill a church detlicated to the Virgin Mary of 
Heniedics. aiul hci-e to this day is the wooden doll dressed 
in the richest jewels, and receiving the worship of the 
people! 

Such was the age of the conquest, and such are the 
sujierstitions from which the most intelligent have long 
since revolted, and which we are here to supplant by 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 39 

the pure aud simple faith of the Christ of Bethlehem and 
Calvary. . . . 

A few weeks later occurred an incident which showed 
what a vast field is opening up to the church : There came 
to the house two men from Celaya, a place more than 
two hundred miles northward. They came to ask that a 
preacher of the gospel might be sent to them. They were 
Indians of the tribe of Otomies who, while speaking Span- 
ish, still preserve also the language which their ancestors 
spoke at the time of the Spanish invasion. 

Their clothing consisted of a pair of trouserSj, made 
of thin white cotton sheeting, and a sort of narrow blan- 
ket which they throw about their naked shoulders and 
bodies. Their shoes are merely a piece of leather fastened 
to the sole of the foot by straps passing over the instep 
and between the toes. The head surmounted by a coarse 
hat of straw with a brim two feet or more in diameter, 
and their costume is complete, though it must be con- 
fessed, it is rather scanty. 

They said there were many of their countrymen scat- 
tered in towns and villages northward, who are weary 
and distrustful of their Romish priests who only seek to 
make gain out of the poverty of the people. These men 
asked for books and tracts to teach them our doctrine, 
and a man to come and proclaim to them the new way of 
which they had now first heard. They belong to a pe- 
culiar and very large class of the population of Mexico. 
The Spanish and mixed population, living chiefly in the 
towns, is very different from the pure Indian population. 
The former are characterized by falsity, treachery, and 
fanaticism and many other vices. The latter are said to 
be very faithful and trustworthy, though poor and igno- 
rant. 

Those who came asking for a preacher, were represen- 



40 THIKTEKN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

tativos of a wiy lar^u jirdportiDii of the population which 
is not reached by our work in the cities. Possibly, too, 
it is the very class which would yield the richest and 
most abundant fruit to gospel toil. They are stretching 
out their hands for the gosi)el of Christ. Who will carry 
if to them? 



CHAPTER II 

PuEBLA^ January 16, 1875. 
My dear Mother: 

At last I write you from Puebla, which seems likely to 
be my home for a long time to come. I left Mexico City 
last Wednesday morning, arriving here the afternoon of 
the same day. I was accompanied by and am to have 
as my helper for some months an English Wesleyan local 
preacher, whose name is Christopher Ludlow. He has 
for some time been employed as a local preacher in Eng- 
lish, at Real del Monte and Pachuca, where he was en- 
gaged in connection with some mining works. 

His engagement there having expired, he has come into 
our mission, and expects to learn the language and con- 
tinue in the work of evangelization. He is a practical 
mechanic of a good deal of experience, and has been sent 
here by Dr. Butler to aid me in the repairing of our 
church property here in Puebla. On arriving, we found 
that the rooms we had written to secure had been rented. 

We spent the night in the hotel and next day after long 
search succeeded in securing three rooms which we took 
for ourselves, hoping soon to find a house in which to 
place our orphan boys and begin our school. The man 
who had formerly occupied these rooms was most kind, 
though he knew we were Protestants, and had come as 
missionaries. He even left us a part of his own furniture 
jand showed us every courtesy, and within a few days we 
jfound several friends who did much to help us in getting 
settled. 

41 



42 THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

One of these is an American woman, Pennsylvania 
Dutch, who has lived many years in this country. Her 
children have grown up Komaiiists. The husband of one 
of them, although a Catholic, has taken great interest in 
us, spending many hours going about with me hunting 
houses, and helping by his advice and sympathy. I have 
found a kind welcome too among foreigners, most of 
whom are Germans. One of them told me there are a- 
number of children waiting to be baptized by a Protestant 
minister. 

I have already made the acquaintance of several of the ■ 
local and state officials, and am to be presented to the- 
governor and president of the common council to-morrow. 
I am assured that we shall have all needful protection on 
the part of the government. 

I have detailed all these things in order to show you 
that God is already giving us an entering in among the 
people to whom we are sent. I know you have been 
anxious, and 1 wish to put your fears at rest. My great 
anxiety is that God may make my labors a blessing to 
the souls of these people. There is very great need of 
circumspection and wisdom, all the more as I am a for- 
eigner. I trust, however, that a universal gospel of per- 
sonal salvation, preached and lived, will speedily break 
down prejudice and bring the people to Jesus. 

Next week we begin work on our repairs and shall 
carry them forward as fast as possible and go as far as 
our means will allow. We shall be a good deal restricted 
as to the latter. How I wish that some friend or friends 
would make up a thousand dollars and send it directly 
to us as an extraordinary gift to God's cause in Puebla! 
It would prove a most profitable investment. 

I am hoai'ding at a restaurant, in default of a better 
place. It is not very jileasant and there is not the slight- 
est reminder of home life about me, but I do not feel like 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 43 

complaining. I would gladly bear much more of priva- 
tion could I only see God's work prospering in my 
hands. . . . 

PuEBLA^ February 7, 1875. 
My dear Mother: 

Since my last letter we have been going forward rapidly 
with our work, and have accomplished a good deal. Last 
week we had over thirty men employed. In other re- 
spects too my work is encouraging. I have become ac- 
quainted with a number of foreigners here who are 
Protestants and seem glad we have come. Many of them 
will send their children to our school, and some will 
identify themselves with our services. They are chiefly 
Germans. 

My first attempt to call any of the native Protestants 
together was this morning. I have a colporteur employed 
to help me who is a native of this place and has many 
acquaintances here. Through him I extended the invita- 
tion to such as he could find to come to my own room. 
In response three besides ourselves came, so we had a 
little meeting of six. We talked over the cause of God 
together, and read and prayed. 

Those who came are men who have suffered for con- 
science' sake, wounds and hunger and nakedness. They 
told me they knew of others of like convictions to the 
number of twenty or more. So you see there are, even in 
Puebla, some who do not bow the knee to Baal. 

We have to encounter many difficulties in this work. 
The people do not find it easy to believe that we can have 
come hither without some selfish end in view. Some 
charge us with having political objects as our ultimate 
aim, and in this way Mexican jealousy of the rising power 
of the United States sometimes operates against us. 
Others have started a report that we are emissaries of 



44 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

the Masous come to establish that order, against which 
there is widespread dislike. 

But notwithstanding tliese prejudices and slanders 
God is giving and will give us a wide door of entrance, 
and I begin to hope the difficulties will be in some re- 
spects less than we have anticipated. 

We are compelled to begin very quietly, for to be open 
Protestants would take the bread out of their mouths, 
and man}' are thoroughly intimidated by one or two 
events of the past history of Protestantism in this place. 
I think however that we have nothing to fear from 
violence. 

The American Minister in Mexico City, Mr. Foster, 
has lately taken very strong measures with the Mexican 
government, holding it to treaty pledges for the protec- 
tion of American citizens. This has been done in view 
of the trouble at Acapulco, where there was a recent dis- 
turbance in which five were killed and eleven wounded in 
an attack made on a Protestant place of worship. Aca- 
pulco is a long way from Pnebla and in a part of the 
countr}' where the government acknowledges it has less 
control over the people. 

Dr. Butler and I went the other day to call on the 
governor of the State and the mayor of the city, to ad- 
vise them of our presence. They gave us every promise 
of protection, but these promises are of little value, as 
the government of this State is notoriously bad and must 
soon fall, whether peaceably or by violence cannot yet 
be said. In any case when the change comes, it will un- 
doubtedly be favorable to us and our work. After all, our 
umin confidence we must rejjose in God and his provi- 
dence. A\'e need wisdom and jirndence, as well as zeal 
and courage, in conducting this woik. 

Dr. Cooper has had another attack of illness and leaves 
on Tuesday for the States on account of his health. This 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 45 

leaves our work without any American missionary who 
attempts to preach in Spanish, I of course do it but 
poorly, being as yet a tyro in the language. 

I go on Thursday to Mexico City to spend Sunday and 
will return to Puebla on Tuesday with the orphan boys. 
I have secured additional rooms for tlieir temporary ac- 
commodation on the same floor of the building where Mr. 
Ludlow and I have our quarters. 

(To his Mother) 

Puebla, March 2, 1875. 

Nearly two weeks ago I returned here from Mexico 
City, bringing with me the boys' orphanage. We made 
quite a large company on the train. There were fourteen 
boys of all ages, from four years to thirteen. Besides 
these the man who has supervision under my direction 
of the boys, with his wife and little girl. Then the school 
teacher, with his wife and three children. Thus there 
were in all, counting myself, the patriarch of all, twenty- 
three souls. 

We landed from our day's journey at three o'clock in 
the afternoon, and found our new house all in readiness 
for us, chiefly through the efforts of our kind friend Mrs. 
Johnson. 

Of course I am very busy with all this charge on my 
hands. There are fourteen hungry little mouths to be 
fed, and I must say what is to be given them and provide 
the means to buy it. There are fourteen little bodies to 
be kept comfortable, and I must keep an oversight of 
their clothing, washing, etc. I must also keep the ac- 
counts of the house, giving out needed money and calling 
the servants to account for it, not only for the orphanage, 
but also for our own housekeeping, as Brother Ludlow 
and I have a servant and eat at our own table. Then, 
too, I have to keep up supplies and money for our work 



46 rillKTEEN YEAliS IX MEXICO 

of it'pairs. and keep iliese uccoiinls straight. Even this 
is not all. Imi 1 will not say more lest you think we ex- 
aggerate. 

I feel very strangely sometimes at being placed over 
SIM li a lamily as I have in this house. It is a fearful re- 
sponsibility, and its cares have liarassed and woai'ied me 
very greatly. The children have never, np to this time, 
been under any proper discipline, and .so are somewhat 
unruly. I think I begin already to see some improve- 
ment in this res])ect. I hope they may grow up good and 
useful men. It is only by training them up from youth 
in this way thai we can hojie to secni-e the most useful 
preachers and teachers for this land. I must try to be to 
them, while nn<ler my care, both father and mother, 
for some of them will know in after years no other. 

1 wonder if the good folks in Xenia would not be glad 
to make up a box of clothing for these children. It would 
cost very little comj)aratively to buy material and make 
up a little suit for each of these boys. Pants of some 
liglit cheap cloth, made to button on calico waists, with 
little round-front linen jackets for the small boys, and 
plain cloth ones for the larger Ixtys, of the same material 
as the pants. Three of the small ones are very fat, so 
that the waistbands must be nuuk' large or they won't 
meet around tlicm. 

The work on oiw new premises is being pushed forward 
very rapidly and we ho])e to move into them, although in 
a viM-y uuliuishcd slate, wilhiu live or si.\ weeks. This 
ehange is mmv much to be desiicd because we have been 
som«'\vhat annoyed in our present (juai-ters. The dei)art- 
meut of the house over our heads was occupij^l 1)V a 
Ijonianisi school. 'I'lie lamily and scinxd liaxc moved out, 
bag and baggage, on oui- account. Other oc<'Upants of 
the house ha\(' threat(Mied to do likewise, and the owner 
is greatly disturbed ami wants us to get out. 



J 



THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 47 

Opening for a foundation the other day, we suddenly 
came upon immense numbers of human bones. They had 
been interred under the brick and mortar floor of the house 
we are fitting up, and been forgotten for years. Of course 
it is a perfect bed of corruption and would be a fruitful 
source of ill health. So we have been compelled to take 
up the bones of perhaps more than a hundred persons 
and secure permission to have them reinterred in a 
cemetery. 

We are now holding meetings regularly every Sunday 
morning and afternoon, and every Thursday night. The 
attendance, apart from the members and helpers of the 
mission, is very small. Many more are there who call 
themselves Protestants, but they are either afraid to 
come, as some of them acknowledge, or they are full of 
suspicion and mistrust of us. 

We find many difficulties and discouragements that 
almost make me heartsick, but I have faith in God that 
he will remove in his own time the stumblingblocks and 
give free course to the triumphs of his holy Word. . . . 

PuBBLA^ May 3, 1875. 
My dear Mother : 

The closing out of the first year of my life in Mexico 
finds me surrounded by many more blessings than I de- 
serve. Not least among them do I reckon that of God's 
goodness and preserving care to my father and mother 
and all those I love so much at home. I thought of you, 
mother, on your birthday, but had forgotten that it was 
your fiftieth anniversary. I pray God to spare you many, 
many more years to your children ! 

Since I last wrote you, there has been quite an acces- 
sion to our household. Tlie wife and mother-in-law and 
little child of Brother Ludlow, my companion and helper, 
have arrived from England. Mrs. Ludlow is a nice little 



48 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

woman, who seems to take very kindly to her new sur- 
roundings. With her mother the case is different; she 
misses her home and its privileges keenly, and already 
talks of returning. So long as Mr. Ludlow and his family 
are here, they will keep house and I shall board with 
them. 

The bulk of the work on our property here is now ap- 
proaching its end. Mr. Ludlow has been of good service 
to me, being by trade a mechanic and engineer. Still, 
as he speaks very little Spanish, much of the supervision 
of the work and all the purchasing of material has come 
upon me. We have spent now a little over two thousand 
dollars. We are so limited in means that it is impossible 
for us to finish up the work as we ought for real comfort 
and convenience, but it will answer for the present. In 
years to come we shall be obliged to have some other 
location, but that must wait till the proportions and 
growth of the work demand it, when I doubt not we shall 
have the necessary means. 

A week ago I was for the first time called upon to cele- 
brate the sacrament of baptism. I then baptized two 
little children of a German family, conducting the service 
in Spanish, as few of the company present understood 
English. 

One thing more I must mention. A week or two ago, 
there appeared a statement in a Mexico paper about 
Puebla and the open persecution of the Protestants, burn- 
ing their house, attempting their lives, etc. Fearing it 
may get into the papers at home and cause you anxiety, 
I will tell you that the whole thing is a misrepresentation 
for political purposes. The only shadow of foundation 
for it was in certain vague rumors whose source could 
not be traced and whose object probably was to frighten 
us in our first stej)s. Bider oueiuios we have undoubtedly, 
but they are powerless to do us violence. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 49 

Several of the Indians of whom Dr. Butler wrote some 
time ago in the Missionary Advocate, were here last 
week, having traveled on foot from Mexico City. They said 
that having returned from their country to Mexico and 
not finding me there, they had come on to Puebla just to 
salute me and report what they had done with the tracts 
and Testaments we had given them. The leader told me 
that seven villages of their people had united in asking 
for a school, to be established by us among them. How 
I wish we could do something for them! "The harvest 
truly is great, but the laborers are few! Pray therefore 
the Lord of the harvest that he send forth laborers into 
his harvest." . . . 

(To his mother) 

Puebla, June 15, 1875. 

My last letter was sent off in great haste on the night 
of the day in which we moved into this, our newly fitted 
up home. Everything was in utter confusion, the brick 
floors were thoroughly wet from having just been 
scrubbed, while out of doors the rain was pouring down 
in torrents. Now, however, things are considerably 
changed for the better. Something like order begins to 
reign in the house, and the weather is as fine as could 
be wished, sun shining brilliantly, four snow-capped sum- 
mits visible from our roof, and the whole landscape smil- 
ing in verdure in consequence of the rains. 

We have now been in this house three weeks, holding 
our services as usual, and without any serious trouble. 
A week ago during the morning service, a great crowd 
thronged the street and pressed about the door, but this 
is not to be wondered at, considering the general no- 
toriety of our house and work, and the fact that our 
premises front the market place, which is a busy place 
all day Sunday. The greater part of the crowd seemed 



r»0 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

actuated by mere curiosity, longing to catch a glimpse 
of the interior of the place which has been so much talked 
about and so bitterly denounced. A few evil disposed 
persons there were who would have liked to excite a 
tumult, but the police was present and they dared not do 
much. Some ugly language was bandied about and one 
or two stones thrown, and that was all. Some of those 
in attendance at the service were afraid to go out till a 
rain came up and scattered the crowd. 

In the afternoon, at service time, another crowd 
gathered, and I sent down and invited them to come in, 
as I had done in person in the morning. Eight or nine 
of them accepted the invitation, and I noted two espe- 
cially, a man and his wife, who at first gave tokens of 
dissent from what was said, but before the close seemed 
to be listening carefully and intensely. I gave them a 
Testament and invited them to come again. They were 
here yesterday, and bid fair to become followers of the 
truth. 

Two weeks ago I received the box of clothing for the 
orphanage. The clothes fit admirably, and the material 
is just the thing. I wish I had a whole piece of the cloth 
and a piece or two of the material of the waists! When 
I go home I shall lay in a stock of it to bring back with 
me. The expense of the box to us was about $25, thanks 
to the nominal valuation of its contents, but I could not 
have bought the material here and had the same amount 
of clothing made for less than ^80, and then it would 
not have been so well made. Then, too, above all is the 
thought that it is a token of Christian interest and sym- 
pathy, which imports an unspeakable value to the gift. 
The children are delighted with them. . . , 

PuEBij^, July 6, 1875. 
The first Sniidiiy our new organ was used in the service 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 51 

it attracted the rabble, and the house was filled with a 
very disorderlj' crowd. In the midst of worship a large 
stone was sent crashing through the front window, just 
behind the preacher. The inside shutters were closed so 
that it only broke the glass and made a great racket. I 
was away that day, preaching in Pachuca and Real del 
Monte, but Dr. Butler and his wife were there, he being 
on his quarterly visit to the Mission. Dr. Skilton, Con- 
sul General of the United States in Mexico, was present, 
and immediately made a donation of |10 to replace the 
broken window. 

The whole matter probably grew out of the fact that 
there has lately been a change of public officers, and the 
new incumbent neglected to send the police to keep the 
peace. I have represented the matter to the authorities, 
and last Sunday we were duly protected and the day 
passed oif in i3erfect quiet. Our enemies find their hands 
are tied. Thus far we have little or no cause of com- 
plaint against the authorities. Still, our first confidence 
is in God. I see so many and such wide opportunities for 
good, opening up here, that I cannot believe that God 
will suffer the way to be hedged up. Some of us may 
have to suffer, but the work will go on. 

We are meeting with some apparent prosperity; con- 
gregations larger, and more and more persons seeming 
to be becoming really attached to the truth. Last Sun- 
day we had about seventy quiet, attentive hearers. The 
attendance is encouraging. 

I am especially interested in the indications, from time 
to time, of the opening of opportunities to evangelize the 
native Indian populations. Their habits and modes of 
thought seem very Oriental and patriarchal, so that they 
move in masses. I feel satisfied that when it becomes 
practicable to preach to them directly the gospel in its 
simplicity, they will rapidly be brought to see the 



52 THIKTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

truth and throw off the oi>pressiou of the priests, who 
seek "ever}' man his own, not the things that are Jesus 
Christ's." 

Next Sunday some representatives from an Indian 
town fourteen leagues away are coming all that distance 
to learn more of that truth of whose brightness they 
have as yet seen but the first faint glimmer. 

There lives here in Puebla an Indian of some influence 
in his village who, for years, has been learning gradually 
the deception of the priests and their mercenary aims. 
He conceived the desire that his son should be educated 
and fitted to be an instrument in elevating and freeing 
his people. He therefore moved to Puebla where he 
placed the boy in school. He has come to know some- 
thing of the Bible and its value, and now desires that 
his son shall fit himself to be a Protestant preacher to 
his people. In these feelings the son, about sixteen or 
seventeen years of age, fully shares. For weeks he has 
not failed to be present at any one of our services, and 
wants to put himself under my instruction, to be fitted 
for the ministry. 

As speedily as possible, I intend securing about half a 
dozen such 3'oung men, and forming the nucleus of a 
biblical school^ whose object shall be to prepare them for 
evangelistic work. Of course its beginnings must be very 
humble and the training very imperfect, compared with 
what it ought to be and will bo, in after years, by God's 
blessing. 

The niiignitude of this work, in its multiplied demands, 
overwhelms me I O that more men were sent out to help 
lay the foundations deep and broad for tlie future of the 
Methodist Church in Mexico! My plans are so many and 
my jtowers to execute so limited, that it can scarcely be 
otherwise than the results should very scantily fill out 
the scheme. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 53 

All the newspaper tidings I have received lately from 
the States represent the condition of things there as 
well-nigh disastrous and hopeless. I hope this is over- 
drawn. It saddens me to hear such news, for I never 
loved my native land as I do now. . . . 

In a letter, written the latter part of July, he men- 
tions having performed his first marriage ceremony. He 
writes also, in detail, of a proposition made to the First 
Church of Xenia, to support and educate one of the boys 
in the orphanage, and suggests that they become respon- 
sible for |60 a year for his maintenance, he to select one 
of the brightest and most promising ones, and send his 
name, age, and photograph, to be made use of to aid in 
raising money. He was also to keep the Sunday school 
informed of his progress, and teach the boy himself to 
whom he was indebted for his education. He expressly 
states, however, that this contribution is not to interfere 
with the regular Conference missionary appropriation; 
the full amount of that to be raised first, and over and 
above that the support of the boy. This was done and 
kept up for many years, with never failing interest and 
enthusiasm. 

He adds: The reports of the mightly revivals of re- 
ligion now being witnessed in Europe, and to some degree 
in America, seem like Pentecostal times. I am some- 
times sorely tempted to long for the privilege of preach- 
ing the gospel in my mother tongue. Still, I know that 
the work in which I am engaged is no less important than 
that in the homeland. Indeed, it is even more important, 
because it is laying the foundations of gospel truth where 
error has so long prevailed; foundations upon which in 
after years, if not soon, shall be built a spiritual church. 
So, I ask for patience and strong faith, to toil on here 
and look for the harvest. . . . 



54 THIKTEIi:N YEAKS IN MEXICO 

(To his Mother) 

PuEBLA, August 17, 1875. 

The last few days have been exceeding!}- bus}' ones for 
me, finishing up work on our chapel, preparatory to the 
dedication, which occurred last Sunday. I inclose one 
of the printed notices, and although in Spanish, you will 
see at all events that we took good care to announce our 
movements and invite the people. The result was very 
favorable. The chapel was well filled and the congrega- 
tion very quiet and attentive for the most part. The ma- 
jority were of the lower classes, but there were also a 
goodly number of well-to-do people. It was an interest- 
ing company. About two hundred were present in the 
morning and as man}' in the e\'ening. 

Brother John Butler came down from Mexico and 
I)reached at niglit, and his brother Edward played the 
organ. All passed ott' very quietly, although there had 
been some serious threats. The government furnished us 
ample protection. 

Our chai)el is very neat and pretty. The ceiling is a 
dome, supported on arches; the walls are light blue, with 
the cornices and trimmings white. The pulpit is a double, 
circular platform, the desk of a beautiful wood, not un- 
like cedar, polished and varnished in its natural color. 
The balustrade is of the same, and the balusters black. 
The communion table is of Puebla marble, translucent 
and beautifully polished, set in a black frame. The carpet 
is red and black. 

I am in hopes our congregations will speedily fill the 
chapel, and call for a larger place of worshij). That we 
have been able, without any disturbance, to ojjen a Prot- 
estant church side by side with a Komish one, and that 
in an ancient convent, in the city of Puebla, is a great 
triumph; greater tlum you can well apjireciate. Many 
people express their surprise at what we have been en- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 55 

abled to accomplish. "It is the Lord's doing and mar- 
velous in our eyes !" 

Two young men, one twenty-five, the other eighteen 
years of age, have been sent to me, and they with my 
native helper, are to form the nucleus of a theological 
school under my direction. I have to begin with them 
almost utterly without books or other aids, and try to 
train them into efBcient preachers of the truth. Rather 
a great undertaking, you will say, for one who knows so 
little about preaching himself. Well, so it is. But what 
are we to do? we must have native preachers. Men who 
have already trained minds and are fit for the work, will 
not dedicate themselves to it, so we must take such young 
men as do offer, give them such help as we can, and then 
thrust them out into the fields that are already white 
for the harvest. I expect the number of these will be 
considerably increased by the first of October, so as to 
form quite a respectable class. 

To-morrow Brother Ludlow and family leave here for 
Pachuca, and I shall then be left without any English- 
speaking assistance. My duties and distractions will, in 
consequence, be increased. Meanwhile, under all this 
pressure, I am struggling forward as best I may in my 
Spanish, making some progress, as I venture to hope. . . . 

PuEBLA, August 30, 1875. 
My dear Mother: 

I am now keeping bachelor's hall. I have a servant 
girl who comes every morning and stays all day. She 
cooks for me h la Mexicana, and I get along with it very 
well. My only companion at the table is a cat, which 
has attached herself to me. 

I have made the acquaintance of a German lady, the 
wife of a physician, who has been very kind. She was 
brought up among the Moravians, and so understands 



1: 



56 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

more of spiritual religion than most of her country peo- 
ple. She has been so long without church privileges and 
spiritual helps that she feels herself in a backslidden 
state. The first time she came to church the tears rolled 
down her cheeks in a flood from the old memories that 
stirred in her heart. 

For the last two weeks I have had an intermittent 
fever which, while not confining me to bed, has made it 
impossible for me to do more than oversee things about 
the establishment. The fever seems now to be broken, 
and I am feeling much better this morning. 

Before you receive this, I will have passed my birth- 
day — twenty-four years old. I doubt not you will re- 
member it. Pray for me that if I live another twenty- 
four years they may bear much fruit for the Master. . . . 

(To his Father) 

PuEBLA, September 5, 1875. 
No doubt 3'ou and mother are in Cincinnati to-day en- 
joying Conference, that annual feast of tabernacles, at 
least in a sense. Such opportunities are among the things 
whose loss I feel very keenly, for hearing and associating 
with God's approved workmen would be a means of edu- 
cation and a stimulus which I very much need. So I 
read the accounts of camp meetings, conventions. Con- 
ferences, etc., sometimes with a half feeling of regret. 
I am too young to be thrown so utterly upon my own re- 
sources. It is not impossible that my intellectual and 
even my spiritual growth may be stunted or misdirectecL 
Still, when I look at the other side of the matter, and 
consider the vast opportunities of usefulness here af- 
forded, and see what by (Jod's blessing has already been 
accomi)lished. I can only rejoice in the privilege of being 
engaged in such a work. As for the rest I can trust God 
and try to work faithfully. If I sutler from the lack of 



I 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 57 

the means of grace it is my own fault, for the Bible I 
have, and the Holy Ghost can work in Mexico as well as 
in Ohio. 

Our congregation, which began seven months ago with 
five, has grown to eighty, and this in spite of the fact 
that in the meantime another congregation has been estab- 
lished by another Protestant denomination. The degree 
of sectarian prejudice manifested by some of the de- 
nominations is a shame to our Protestant faith! By 
God's help we have thus far kept above such petty and 
unworthy jealousies, and will do so to the end. . . . 

Orizaba, September 24, 1875. 

I left Puebla a week ago to-day, on the present trip, 
partly for my health, partly for work. It was thought a 
change of air would be beneficial and perhaps break up 
the fever which has been troubling me lately. 

I stopped off in Apizaco to prospect a little and ex- 
amine a site offered for mission house and church. 
Apizaco is a railroad town, probably more like some of 
our Western towns than any other place in Mexico. It 
has sprung up where there was formerly no town, and 
owing to the establishment of railway shops and manu- 
facturing establishments, has grown very rapidly and 
is looked upon as an important point for a mission sta- 
tion. It is only two hours by train from Puebla, and 
belongs to my district. 

The Romanists have already built their church, though 
it is still in an unfinished condition. A curious story 
was told me of the strife among the Romish parishioners 
as to the choice of a saint, for every church must have 
its patron saint. 

One party favored the election of an image of the 
Virgin, which is said once to have winked, but after a 
heated controversy, the opposing party triumphed and 



58 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

their favorite idol was set up. But in the night, the 
partisans of the Virgin whose image had performed the 
prodigy of winking, broke into the church, tore down the 
opposing image and made general havoc. The blame was 
sought to be laid on the innocent Protestants, and in the 
end the winking idol was set up, I will not vouch for 
the details, but anyone who knows the Mexican populace 
will admit that such an occurrence is not at all impos- 
sible. O how they need the gospel ! 

I finished the afternoon's work, found a lodging, and 
got to bed early, as I had to take the train at three o'clock 
the next morning, I reached here after a seven hours 
ride, which was very interesting and enjoyable. 

Orizaba is a large city, situated on the border of the 
"tierra caliente," or hot land of the coast. Its climate 
is very different from that of Mexico City and Puebla, 
much warmer and moister. Its foliage and fruits are 
tropical and very beautiful. In the season, December, 
oranges are more abundant here than apples ever are at 
home. Imagine a market where twelve dozen beautiful 
oranges are sold for eighteen cents! 

Orizaba presents a ver3' picturesque appearance to the 
foreigner. The houses are generally low, of one story, 
roofed with red tiles, with wide eaves projecting far over 
the sidewalk. Everywhere through the wide entrances 
to the houses you look in upon a wilderness of foliage. 

On Sunday I preached three times — twice in Spanish 
and once in English — and after the evening service ad- 
ministered the Lord's Supper to a large number of people. 

Early Monday morning I climbed the mountain which 
rises a thousand feet above tlie city, and on wliose sum- 
mit was fought a battle during the French intervention. 
The ruins of a fort and the burial jdace of the slain are 
still visible. The view from the summit is most beautiful, 
including the city, the wide and fertile valley, with its 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 59 

winding streams, orange and banana trees, and other 
rich tropical vegetation, all hemmed in by the precipitous 
slopes of the mountains which, green and wooded to their 
summitSj rise to a greater altitude than that at which 
the observer stands. While we stood there, the train 
from Vera Cruz came rushing up the valley, her mighty 
engine puffing and snorting as if anxious for the long 
climb that would place her on the elevated central table 
land of Mexico. 

Coming down we met a Mexican matron with her 
brood of handsome daughters, mirthfully climbing the 
hill, all well dressed but without hat or bonnet, articles 
largely discarded by the fair sex in this latitude. 

Breakfast over we took a coach and drove out to In- 
genio, about five miles distant. There a large volume of 
water bursts suddenly out of the mountain side, pure 
and clear. It is the outlet of a lake many leagues distant 
among the mountains. Its waters come all this distance 
foaming in the heart of the mountain and, freed from 
their prison, go rejoicing down the valley only to be as- 
signed the commonplace task of turning the immense 
turbine wheels of a cotton factory and paper mill. The 
water was so fresh and clear that I yielded to the im- 
pulse and stripping off my clothes plunged in for a bath, 
and a delightful one it was ! 

Tuesday morning early. Brother Stephens, who is 
preacher in charge of Orizaba, and the other half of the 
"we" in this letter, and myself took the train for Cor- 
doba, about twenty miles away, to establish a congrega- 
tion in that city. I preached Tuesday and Wednesday 
night, and though the weather was exceedingly bad, had 
good congregations, at least fifty the second night, and 
a very favorable opening for our work. 

We were called at half past three and took the omnibus 
for the railway station, which is some distance from the 



60 THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

towu. They net us down in the mud about a hundred 
yards from the station and, loaded down with our bag- 
gage, we had to flounder about in the darkness till we 
found our way to terra firma and a cup of hot coffee. We 
finally reached Orizaba about six o'clock. Preached again 
last night. I stay here till Monday, preaching at the 
three services on Sunday and llieii am off for I*ue- 
bla. . . . 

PuEBLA, October 18, 1875. 
My dear Mother: 

The long successions of church festivals celebrated at 
this time of the year, commencing with the feast of Santo 
Domingo, and going through that of San Augustine, San 
Francisco, Santa Teresa, and closing up with the feast 
of Our Lady of the Rosary, is just ended. Most of them 
are honored in a nine days' festival, but the latter saint 
is deemed worthy of a preeminence which is indicated 
by fifteen days' festivities. As the image, which was at 
one time incredibly wealthy, stands in the church of 
Santo Domingo, adjoining our mission premises, we were 
right in the midst of the celebration. 

From the first day of the prescribed period, the houses 
of the faithful in all the vicinity of the church are ex- 
pected to be illuminated by lamps or paper lanterns, 
hung from the balconies. A printed notice to this effect 
is circulated by the priests, accompanied often with a 
poem, panegyric of the saint, ascribing to him or her all 
honors, not even withholding those due to God alone. A 
prose translation of one of these effusions, celebrating 
the glories of Saint Dominic (juznum and Saint Francis 
of Assist, founders respectively of the monkish orders of 
Dominicans and Franciscans, is as follows: "To them 
the world owes its life, since in proof of their quenchless 
love thev disarmed the sacred right lian<l of God, and 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 61 

have given it (the world) their constant protection. Con- 
tinually in its behalf they ponr their intercessions, and 
until it return to fathomless nothing, will they fix upon 
their sons their pitying gaze, and will be their shield in 
every grief." 

Every day during the progress of this feast there is 
mass at five o'clock in the morning, at eight, and at 
twelve, with vespers at night, all accompanied with the 
music of a military band. At some appointed hour an 
orator, chosen from the clergy, ascends the pulpit and 
in a strain of hyperecstatic eloquence, pours out and 
exhausts all the resources of language in ascriptions of 
purity, merit, chastity, suffering, and boundless influence 
at the court of heaven; and all this to mere men, some 
of whom have been the bloodiest persecutors of the faith 
of Christ that history has ever known. 

Every night the streets in the neighborhood of the 
church where the saint has his shrine, present a most 
enlivened appearance. The sidewalks are filled with 
gayly dressed people intermingled with ragamuffins, all 
pouring along in an unbroken stream. On the curbstone 
are ranged long lines of venders of fruit, nuts, cakes, and 
confectionery, each with his smoking, flaring, turpentine 
torch, and all shouting out their wares in loud and shrill, 
but often not unmusical notes. 

The last night is not only the conclusion but also the 
culmination of the feast. Then the illumination is 
brighter, the crowd gayer, the torches more flaring, and 
the venders more lusty than ever. Bands of music are 
stationed at various points, fancy fireworks, with the 
more vulgar torpedoes, firecrackers, and rockets, with the 
hubbub of the laughing, shouting crowd, keep up a racket 
which dies not away till a late hour. Then the crowd 
scatters, the streets grow dark, somber and silent, the 
great church doors swing shut, and the gaudy image, 



62 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

having had its day, is pushed aside into dust and oblivion, 
to be supplanted by some other, and scarce thought of or 
mentioned until another year has rolled away. Nothing 
is to be heard in the dead streets but the shrill whistles 
of the night watchmen as they chorus out the flying hours, 
or call for help to put a quietus upon some belated strag- 
gler who reels along with the drunken shout upon his lips, 
"Long live religion! Death to the Protestants I" 

With all this, the faithful on every hand lament the' 
decadence of splendor and show and enthusiasm which 
formerly characterized these feasts. Certain it is that 
Romanism is losing its hold, though slowly and almost 
imperceptibly. May God enable us to supplant it with a 
purer, better, nobler faith, that this misguided people 
may no longer look to Mary as the deified queen of mercy 
and only giver of salvation, but to Jesus alone, the com- 
passionate, loving, yearning Saviour! May God turn 
them back again to the "only name" and saving 
hope! . . . 

October 19. I have just heard that the steamers will 
soon begin to run directly from New Orleans to Vera 
Cruz, without stopping at Tuxpam and Tampico, so that 
the passage will be but three days. Now, cannot you and 
father take a six weeks vacation and come down to 
Mexico, bring Jenny and leave her to return with me 
when I go home? 

Colonel Foster, the American Minister, is leaving by 
the next steamer for a brief vacation and will return 
early in January with his family. In case you and fatlici' 
cannot come you could send Jenny with them. I will 
write at once asking if it will be convenient for them to 
take her uiuler their care, and hope you will take ad- 
vantage of this oi)i>ortuni1y. 

Come yourself, if possible; if not, send Jenny. 



I 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 63 

(To his Mother) 

November 10, 1875. 

I seem to have become very well knovrn now, all over 
the city, and scarcely ever go into the street without 
receiving some token that my presence here is not very 
highly esteemed by all parties. Often I hear muttered 
words of hatred, id no doubt many a curse is impre- 
cated upon my he? "^ continually meet persons to whom 
I have been intro .ed and who havejjeen very friendly 
in private, but t nen they encounter me on the street, 
they take particular pains not to see me; not that they 
are opposed to our work or lack good will, but it would 
compromise them, socially and commercially, to be known 
to be friendly to the Protestant minister. Amid such 
obstacles and others, which spring from the violent hatred 
of many, we have to build up our work slowly. A few 
years will, I trust, make a, vast change. 

I have just received the Minutes of the Cincinnati Con- 
ference, and am utterly surprised and astonished at the 
language of Dr. Butler's letter! This with all the other 
flattering things overwhelms me. How unworthy I am 
of such esteem ! May God make me all that these things 
imply, and all you would hope! . . . 






CHAPTER III 

PuBBLA, January 11, 1876. 
J)ear Father: 

I cannot tell you how glad I am to have Jenny with 
me; it has done me a great deal of good already. When 
I knew by telegraphic dispatch that she was in Vera Cruz, 
I was in a perfect fever of excitement till the moment 
I saw her. I went down the road as far as the place 
where the trains from Mexico and Vera Cruz meet each 
other, and then passed over into the up-train altogether 
unexpectedly to Jenny. You may imagine our mutual 
delight at the meeting! 

She will no doubt write you how well I am looking, 
and how much better she found things than she expected. 
She seems contented and happy, has not a word of com- 
plaint, and if she is at all homesick bears up under it 
nobly. She makes the beds, sews on my buttons, is going 
to darn my stockings, and in odd times practices on our 
cabinet organ. We have called on several of my friends 
who are all greatly captivated with her. Last night we 
took tea and spent the evening at the German Consul's, 
where we were pleasantly entertained. 

I received this morning a note from Mrs. Butler, con- 
gratulating me on my sister's arrival, and pressing us 
very urgently to go to Mexico City very soon to visit them. 
I do not think there is any danger of Jenny's getting very 
homesick. She will be too busy, and she has so certain 
and speedy a prospect of returning home. I do not allow 
myself to think much of the time when she must leave 

64 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 65 

me; that is, if it be impossible for me to go home with 
her. I tried to explain, in my last letter, the difficulties 
in the way of my going this year, though I am really 
anxious to do so if possible. 

Brother Graver and wife, new missionaries, arrived by 
the same steamer on which Jenny came. I am expecting 
a visit from them at the end of the month. They are to 
go to Guanajuato (change the u's into w's and the j into 
h, and you will pronounce it right). It is said to be a 
very dangerous place, perhaps more so than Puebla was 
thought to be a year ago, but, as has been the case here, 
no doubt they will find the wa}^ open before them. I 
doubt if there be any place in all Mexico where a man of 
ordinary courage and prudence could not make his way 
and meet with success. 

Another missionary, S. W. Siberts, and his wife are 
expected in a few weeks to go to Queretaro, the scene of 
the execution of Maximilian. I am now in excellent 
health and weigh more than when I left home. . . . 

January 31. 
Jenny and I went to Mexico City a week ago at the 
cordial invitation of Mrs. Butler. I returned home the 
following Monday, leaving her for a longer stay. Mrs. 
Butler and Mrs. Foster are both very fond of Jenny and 
speak in terms of high admiration of her, so I do not 
know when they will let her come back to Puebla; soon, 
I hope, for I miss her very much. She has met a great 
many nice people and seems to be enjoying herself ex- 
ceedingly. She is in perfect health, and I think you need 
feel no anxiety about her. . . . 

February 21. 
Just now there is quite an extensive revolution going 
on in Mexico. The State of Oaxaca, two hundred miles 



66 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

south of here, is all iu arms. Part of the State of Puebla 
also is in rebellion and the government troops have al- 
ready suffered cue defeat. What the end will be it is im- 
possible now to foresee. The trouble arises from alleged 
arbitrary i>rocedure of the central government, in viola- 
tion of the federal constitution, together with the sup- 
posed design of President Lerdo to reelect himself, con- 
trary to the popular will, in the approaching presidential 
election. 

The government is evidently in great straits for men 
and money. Large numbers of men are being pressed 
into the army, in a most unrepublican style. The govern- 
ment sends out squads of soldiers into the streets, and 
wherever they see a poor man who looks as though he 
would make a soldier, they seize him and march him off 
to the barracks like a criminal. Remonstrance is useless 
and there is no appeal. It is still hoped that the legiti- 
mate authorities will triumph without delay. 

Whether I'uebla is to be the scene of a siege, as in 
former years, is as yet doubtful, though it seems im- 
probable from the fact that it is now so nearly connected 
by the railway with the capital whence large bodies of 
troops can be sent, on a few hours' notice, for its defense. 
In case of danger, I shall place Jenny in the German 
Consulate, where she will be perfectly safe and with very 
kind friends. I write you all these facts to forestall the 
sensational items of home newspapers. All this trouble 
has si)rung up in an almost incredibly short time. When 
I wrote for Jenny and when she arrived here, I had not 
the slightest suspicion of this. 

We hope it may^ pass over as quickly as it has arisen. 
War news travels very slowly and is very unreliable in 
Mexico, and though there are telegraph lines in every 
direction, we are ignorant for days of what is passing 
within fifty miles of us. . . . 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 67 

Ten days later, the revolution still continuing and 
spreading to an alarming extent, he sent his sister back 
to Mexico City. 

PuEBLA, March 13, 1876. 
My dear Mother: 

This has been one of the most exciting days I have ever 
experienced ; thank God the night has fallen about us in 
peace and tranquillity. Yesterday passed as quietly as 
usual, and also the greater part of the night, but this 
morning Puebla awoke to the greatest uproar and alarm. 
Between three and four o'clock, the Eighth Battalion of 
the federal troops of the line stationed here, "pronounced." 
This is a Mexican term which means that these troops 
renounced allegiance to the existing, legal government of 
President Lerdo and declared in favor of Porfirio Diaz, 
the rival candidate for the presidency. This kind of a 
pronouncement always involves a resort to arms. The 
Eighth Battalion was soon in movement, and those of 
its officers who would not participate in the rebellion 
were speedily bound and imprisoned. The troops were 
immediately put on the march, with the purpose of mak- 
ing the circuit of the other barracks and strong points 
of the city, and taking possession of them. Driving be- 
fore them what little resistance they met, in the course of 
three hours they made the circuit of half the city, taking 
possession of the quarter called La Luz, of San Francisco 
and San Jose. 

Their next point of attack was the public prison where, 
after some sharp fighting, they gained possession, and, 
opening wide the doors, let loose upon society a horde of 
the most desperate and abandoned characters. All this 
was, however, but preliminary. Having armed such of 
their new allies, the prisoners, as they could provide with 
weapons, the leaders arranged the attack on the Plaza, 



OS THIKTEEX YEAKS IN MEXICO 

or inin(ij>.il piihlic square of the city. All being ready, 
I hey iii()\c(l ill two main bodies, numbering together about 
lour Iniiidred men, ah)ng two parallel streets leading to 
this IMaza. Uere the final, and as it proved in the event, 
somewhat successful resistance awaited them. 

Tlie loyal troops had been stationed in the government 
buildings, the cathedral, and the bishop's palace, all of 
which command the Plaza and its approaches. In these 
positions, though much weaker in numbers, they had a 
decided advantage over the disturbers of the peace. The 
latter had to attack openly a foe concealed on the house- 
tops and behind the lofty parapets and towers of the 
cathedral. Notwithstanding these dilliculties, they fouglit 
well and, having taken possession of some adjacent build- 
ings, finally succeeded in dislodging the government 
soldiers from the Governor's Palace, of which they then 
made themselves owners. They then kept up a continual 
fusillade against the cathedral, which was answered with 
spirit by the defenders of that point. Here, however, 
ended their triumphs! 

The cathedral was too easily defensible, and com- 
nuinded too thoroughly the other points defended by the 
government troops, to permit the taking by assault either 
the former or the latter. The only recourse was to wait 
for hunger to bring the besieged to terms, but this was 
also impracticable, for a few hours might bring govern- 
ment troops to the spot to relieve the besieged and cut in 
pieces the besiegers. Under these circumstances, it was 
determined to march out of the city, take a few hours for 
rest and reorganization, expecting meanwhile the arrival 
of considciable bodies of rebel troops marching against 
I'lH'hla. So the bugle called "the assembly," and in a 
short time the rel)els had retired in good order beyond the 
limits of the city. 

It was eleven o'clock when the firing ceased and the 



THIETEEN YEATJS IN MEXICO 69 

city began gradually to become once more tranquil. The 
number of dead and wounded is variously reported from 
twelve to thirty. One thing is certain, that the pave- 
ments of the principal streets of the city are freely 
stained with blood. The firing was at times very hot ; at 
others almost ceased. Being on the roof of our house, 
where I could see and yet be amply protected from ran- 
dom balls, I could hear the continual whistle of rifle balls 
above my head, often very near. 

We have always had a little reason to fear that, on 
such an occasion as that of to-day, the fanatical people 
would avail themselves of the opportunity to do us some 
harm. But in the greatest excitement of this morning no 
one seemed even to think of the Protestants. We are all 
safe and well, and persuaded that God will take care of 
us always, and make all this political and social trouble 
turn out to the furtherance of his blessed gospel. 

I telegraphed Jenny this afternoon of my safety, tell- 
ing her not to come to Puebla till I sent for her. . . . 

Vera Cruz, April 5, 1876. 
Dear Father: 

You will no doubt be very much surprised at the un- 
expected return of Jenny. It is a great trial to me to 
have her visit cut short, but the unfortunate state of 
things in Mexico, and especially in that part of it where 
I am stationed, makes it advisable. Puebla is almost the 
seat of war, nearly all the state in revolt, and the city 
threatened with attack and siege. 

Notwithstanding all this, Jenny might have remained 
longer if it had been certain that I should be able to 
accompany her home in six or eight weeks from now, as 
I had hoped to do, but the revolution has made all that 
uncertain. My work has suffered a good deal and needs 
my presence. I cannot leave Puebla until the present 



70 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

troubles are over, or at least till that part of the republic 
where my work lies has been completely pacified. 

A good opportunity for her to go home presented itself 
in the return of Colonel Foster's family to the States, as 
nearly every one who can at all leave is getting out of 
the country. I need not say how great is my disappoint- 
ment at not being able to accompany Jenny home. I 
could not say good-by to her in Puebla, so, in spite of 
the expense, determined at least to see her on board the 
steamer. I sit here in the hotel as I write, and looking 
out over the blue waters of the Gulf, think how delightful 
it would be if I were to go too to-morrow, instead of being 
left behind. I expect I shall be very lonely when I get 
back to Puebla again. I feel I ought to thank you and 
mother for lending her to me so long. She was a real 
blessing to me. . . . 

Two months later the country was still in such an un- 
settled state that communication with the coast or even 
with the capital was very uncertain. The attention of 
the government which had been diverted temporarily 
from the State of Puebla, by the occupation of Mata- 
moros by General Porfirio Diaz, had again been recalled 
there by later events; the revolutionary troops had been 
constantly gaining in numbers and resources until they 
seriously threatened the city, and the government finally 
sent one of its best generals with such troops as could 
be gathered to attack the enemy. 

He writes June 5 : General entered Puebla yes- 
terday with a mere remnant of his shattered force, with- 
out arms or ammunition, having been utterly defeated. 
It is said that Ihirteen hiiiuircMl men were killed out of 
four thousand engaged on both sides. Within a week 
another severe defeat has been added to the long list of 
reverses which the government has met with in this cam- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 71 

paign. Whether it will be able to recuperate its losses 
and subdue the revolution remains to be seen. Of course 
we can have no interest in this struggle except to desire 
and pray for a speedy end to the fearful destruction of 
human life, and the triumph of law and prevalence of 
peace. 

I have seen in some of the home papers statements 
which represent the principles of the revolutionists as 
reactionary in their tendency, and favorable to the Ro- 
mish Church. I think such representations are altogether 
untrue. The church has stood aloof altogether in this 
struggle. It has little to gain or lose in the issue, and 
takes little interest in it. The revolutionists are just as 
liberal as is the government of President Lerdo. One of 
its leaders, a general in the rebel army, told me months 
ago, that if there should be such a change in the govern- 
ment as he hoped for, our work as missionaries would 
be more favored by the new than by the old government. 
So do not let anything in the papers cause you anxiety 
on this point. We may be besieged here within the next 
two weeks, and we may not be besieged at all, and the 
latter is the most probable. In any case there is nothing 
to fear. I doubt not all these things will turn out to the 
furtherance of the gospel in Mexico. Let us pray and 
believe that this will be the result ! 

You will want to know how my work goes on in the 
midst of all this confusion. AVell, it cannot be doubted 
that the present unsettled condition of the country is a 
temporary hindrance. Not a few of our former attend- 
ants have been pressed into the army ; others do not come 
for fear of being caught in the streets and put in the 
army, and new attendants do not come for the same 
reason. Notwithstanding this, we always have hearers, 
and our congregation presents a respectable appearance 
in regard to numbers. I held two extra services last 



72 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

week, with the special purpose of praying for an out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit. Tliere was a very gracious 
influence manifest in both services. O, how I long to see 
a revival here! 

The children are all well and happy. I wish you could 
have seen some letters written to their friends by two 
of the larger boys! How seriously they exhorted them 
to seek the true religion, and how one of them expressed 
his joy at the prospect of one day being a preacher of the 
gospel! One asked me for a Bible to send to his uncle. 
On the whole, as is to be expected, while some phases 
of my work are very encouraging and hopeful, I am not 
free from discouragements and severe trials. But my 
sufficiency is of God. 

My occupations are very numerous and take up my 
time so fully that T can with difficulty keep up my corre- 
spondence. 1 rise at half past five, and retire at ten 
o'clock, and yet do not get through with my work satis- 
factorily. I would get up earlier and go to bed later, but 
in spite of Mr. Wesley's rules for a preacher, my health 
won't stand it. 

(To his Mother) 

PuEBLA, June 26, 1876. 

Six long weeks have gone by since I have had a line 
from you. Your last letter was probably intercepted and 
carried off by the rebels who stopped the train and carried 
off the mail bags the very day tbat I ought to have re- 
ceived it. 

Since I last wrote, there has been little change in po- 
litical matters, no decisive inovenients of either party. 
Yesterday was jirinuiry election day, but very few voted, 
the vast majority deeming the election a mere farce, since 
President Lerdo is determined to keep his seat by hook 
or crook. Many people seem to think this war will last 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 73 

a long time, and only end with the destruction of Lerdo. 
Certain it is that the revolutionary forces show no symp- 
toms of weariness, and are gaining in numbers and re- 
sources. 

One can but recognize the fact that Lerdo represents 
the legitimate constitutional government of the country, 
and the real interests of Mexico would seem to be best 
conserved by the victory of the party now in power. This 
is certainly true with regard to Mexico's relations with 
foreign powers. If the government is defeated and over- 
thrown by armed insurrection, it will undoubtedly beget 
a lack of confidence in Mexico's power of self-government, 
and the nations will not so readily enter into commercial 
relations with her. If on the other hand the government 
triumphs, Mexico will seem to have taken a long step 
toward a settled and well established government. I do 
not pretend to decide upon the merits of the present con- 
troversy, much less take sides, but I earnestly pray that 
these troubles may speedily come to an end. 

I have lately taken two journeys, spending one Sunday 
in Orizaba, where I preached three times, and one in 
Mexico City, preaching twice. 

How I should like to be at home the Fourth of July! 
I think I shall have to put out the stars and stripes, and 
get up a jollification that day, on my own account. . . . 

(To his Mother) 

July 17, 1876. 
The war is still going on, with the scale apparently 
turning in favor of the government. The rebel forces have 
mostly retired to the mountains, and the national troops 
are again in possession of many places which the rebels 
had occupied. The elections are past and Lerdo is prob- 
ably reelected ; whether legally or not is a disputed point, 
which may possibly cause a revival of the present conflict 



74 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

before the close of the year. Things are certainly in a 
deplorable condition in this country. One would almost 
despair of its future were it not for the assurance that 
God reigns, and can bring order out of confusion, pros- 
perity and blessing out of apparently great disaster. The 
present circumstances seem to be very adverse, but the 
King will know how to work out his own design in it all. 

Next week an ex-priest, a good preacher, is coming 
down here from Mexico City to help me for a few days. 
The people are curious to hear him, and I hope he may 
awaken a new and abiding interest in many who may 
come to hear him out of curiosity. . . . 

We have been fortunate in finding a man who promises > 
to become very useful to us, not only in the management t 
of the orphanage and school work, for which he is spe- 
cially fitted, but also in preaching. He is a German, 
about thirty years of age, and while not a university man, , 
has had very thorough gymnasium training, such as is^ 
to be had only in Germany. He is also a very fine mu- 
sician. 

He came to Mexico, as did many others, at the time of 
the French invasion, and at the close of the war took a 
position as manager of a large plantation near Orizaba. 
Being attracted to our services in that city, he finally 
became a member of our church, and later we employed 
him in our school there. I have now secured his transfer 
to Puebla, as my assistant in the orphanage and theo- 
logical school. . . . 

October 9, 1876. 

Our quarterly communion service was held last Sunday 

night, with about two hundred persons present. AVe had 

a solemn and profitable time. We have had some special 

tokens of prosperity lately, one of which I must tell you 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 75 

about. A young man whom I have noticed for some 
weeks as a constant and attentive member of the con- 
gregation stood up in our meeting Thursday night and 
proclaimed his faith in the Saviour. He had been a 
person of very abandoned habits, almost constantly in- 
toxicated, and a great grief to his mother. A fellow work- 
man had talked with him about the Protestants, but he 
was not at all inclined to accept his invitation to come 
to our services. Finally his companion loaned him a Bible 
which he carried home and read a few chapters, becom- 
ing so interested that he besought his friend to take him 
to the Protestant meetings. He began coming and the 
good Spirit wrought in his soul so that now he declares 
nothing can separate him from his new found religious 
home and faith. Best of all there has been a complete 
transformation in his life. He has ceased drinking al- 
together and cast off his old associates and habits, and 
spends his nights at home reading his precious Bible. 

His mother, noticing the great change in him, asked 
what had come over him and he answered : "Why, mother, 
I have become a Protestant!" The mother, at first hor- 
rified that her son should be of a sect everywhere spoken 
against, could not but be reconciled to that which had 
wrought such a blessed change in her wayward boy, and 
does not now oppose him. This is not the only incident 
of a similar character which has come to my knowledge 
lately, and I hope and trust that they may be greatly 
multiplied. . . . 

At the end of October he was called to Mexico City to 
attend the funeral of a German Lutheran minister, pastor 
of the German congregation there, to whom he pays this 
tribute: ''Brother Goethe had traveled very widely and 
been a very useful minister in many places. A little over 
a year ago, being afflicted with asthma, he left his home 



76 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

aud family in Sacramento, California, and came to 
Mexico, seeking relief. On his arrival he became very 
much interested in the mission work, and in the religious 
welfare of his countrymen. Providentially the way was j 
opened for the establishment of a German congregation. \ 
Brother Goethe threw his whole heart into his new work 
and against many obstacles, not the least of which was 
the religious indifference of his countrymen. They will- 
ingly paid his salary and highly respected him, but they I 
would not attend the preaching services. He performed 
for them faithfully all the offices of a pastor, visiting 
them in their homes, baptizing their children, burying 
their dead, yet often preaching on Sabbath to but two or 
three persons. 

"But though his German work seemed almost utterly 
fruitless, he did a noble work for our Si)anish mission. 
Having very rapidly acquired a good working use of the 
language, he immediately began to participate in the 
Spanish worship, praying, exhorting, and preaching with 
great fervor and blessed fruits. He endeared himself to 
all who knew him, and especially to the members of our 
mission, by the simplicity, sincerity, and purity of his 
character. 

"About two weeks ago he fell sick of a low fever. He 
had struggled through the worst of the disease and begun 
to amend, and all were filled with hope; when a sudden 
aggravation of his old trouble, which in his debilitated 
condition he could not resist, carried him off very sud- 
denly. The saddest circumstance connected with his 
death is that his wife had just taken their two j^oungest 
children to luanston, Illinois, to place them in college, 
intending to go thence to New Orleans, sailing from there 
for Mexico. They were both eagerly anticipating the re- 
union after more than a year's sejtaration. Moreover, 
the family is left destitute, and the boys will be without 



THIRTEEN YEA US IN MEXICO 77 

means to pursue tbe course of education wliich their 
father had, with much anxious care and many sacrifices 
of personal comfort, planned for them." 

November 17, 1876. 
My dear Mother: 

The last few weeks have been a time of much anxiety. 
The revolution has been gaining ground and now seems 
more threatening than ever. Some days ago a quite well 
appointed force left here, under command of General 
Alatorre, and the government party hoped he would make 
head against the revolutionists. But he was utterly de- 
feated yesterday, and all day to-day the fragments of his 
troops have been coming in. Fortifications have been 
begun here. Barricades are put up in the principal 
streets about the public square, and preparations are 
made to resist an expected attack of the hostile forces. 
We are left outside of the projected line of defense, which 
is all the better for us, as we will enjoy greater liberty, 
and can more easily be supplied with eatables. 

There is nothing to fear from the pronunciados. In all 
the excitement of this day we have been altogether un- 
annoyed, and I think you need not have any anxiety as 
to what may have passed by the time you receive this 
note. We are in God's hands and have the pledge of his 
protection. 

For nearly two weeks the railroad between Mexico 
City and Vera Cruz has been interrupted, and the dili- 
gence route is dangerous. A friend of mine was robbed 
this week on the road from Mexico here. I think that 
before the middle of December things will be more tran- 
quil. I must close so as to get this through to the post 
oflSce, before the sentinels are placed in the barri- 
cade. . . . 



CHAPTER IV 

PuEBLA, January 1, 1877. 
One o'clock a. m, 
Mv DEAR Mother: 

I have been exceedingly busy about Christmas and New 
Year's matters, so I can only write a little note to wish 
you all a Happy New Year. 

Our Watch Night meeting is just closed. In the earlier 
part of the evening, we celebrated the Lord's Supper, 
and I received ten persons into lull connection in the 
church. The congregation numbered about a hundred 
and seventy-five. The watch meeting began at ten o'clock, 
and at least eighty persons remained till the close of the 
service. So we are launched upou a new year. May it 
be a better, happier, more successful one than the past ! 
I want to begin with the new year and live all through 
its course a life of deeper consecration and more willing 
obedience than ever before. I am seeking an<l have for 
some lime been seeking, a deeper baptism of (he Holy 
Ghost, a more complete surrender of self, and greater 
)K»wer over sin. How much I need all these for my work I 
Help me by your fervent praj'ers. . . . 

.Innuary 19, 1877. 
Vou are no doubt right in the midst of the coldest 
winter weather. It almost makes me shiver to think of 
it ! Here too we are having what we call cold weather, 
though it does not prevent the Howers from ilourishiug 
and blooming out of doors, nor the fields from being green 




\[K. DREKS AS A COLLE(iE STUDENT 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 79 

and fresh. Still, owing to the coldness and dampness of 
our house, I have felt the cold quite keenly. 

The revolution seems finally to have completely tri- 
umphed in all parts of the republic, and General Diaz is 
in the full tide of prosperity. The extraordinary elec- 
tions for president and state officers are to be held the 
28th of this month. There is no doubt of Diaz's election. 
Every one now hopes for peace and prosperity, at least 
for a time. 

School has opened again, and I am hard at work with 
my young students. There seems no present prospect 
of the removal of the orphanage from this place, as funds 
are very low and such a removal would involve con- 
siderable expense. Last Wednesday night we held the 
first public anniversary of our school, and the premiums, 
awarded as the result of the recent examinations, were 
distributed. The children have made quite satisfactory 
advancement, and under certain new arrangements which 
I have made for the present year, I shall expect still 
better results. . . . 

February 10. 

Since I last wrote, I have had a little diversion in the 
visit of several American travelers from Philadelphia and 
New Jersey. They visited the mission house several 
times, attended the church services, and I went with them 
to see some of the sights of Puebla. An English gentle- 
man and his wife were also here at the same time, and 
on saying good-by, the gentleman put ten dollars into my 
hands for the orphanage. 

It is now pretty well settled that I am to go home 
either in May or June and remain three or four months, 
unless there should be another revolution, which is never 
impossible in Mexico, or some sudden and serious de- 
rangement of the working plans of the mission. All the 



80 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

probabilities, liowever, seem to favor my going aud realiz- 
ing at last the desires of so many months. . . . 

PuEBLA, March 2, 1877. 

To-day are to be held the state elections for governor. 
There is great excitement and a riot has been feared. But 
yesterday about a thousand soldiers came in and they 
will probably be sufficient to keep the peace. I suppose 
I would better mention an event which occurred about 
the middle of February, lest you should see some exag- 
gerated account of it and be alarmed. The day was a 
Komish festival and on the same day arrived the tidings 
of the election of President Diaz. Some men of the lowest 
class asked permission to ring the bells and parade the 
streets, to celebrate the latter event. The crowd came 
down the street near our Mission House, shouting at the 
top of their voices. They had passed the foot of the street 
and gone about half a square, when suddenly they turned 
about and came pouring into the street where our house 
is situated, .shouting, ''Death to the Protestants!" and 
began a regular bombardment of the front entrance. A 
perfect torrent of stones flew against the door for about 
three minutes when, as .suddenly as they had come they 
marched off, before the police had time to arrive. For- 
tunatel}' no one was injured. 

The government showed great promptness, sent imme- 
diately a strong force of police, and placed a garrison of 
six men inside the house, who remained for the next 
thirty-six hours. Ever since that time we have had a 
guard of two men day and night. I cannot attribute the 
sudden retreat of the mob to any other cause than the 
interposition of God's providence for our protection. 
This is a candid statement of what occurred. You see 
we met with no accidents, and have reason to thank God 
and take courage. The Lord will not suffer harm to be- 



THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 81 

fall us. 01" this 1 feel coufideut. Our congregations have 
been larger since than before this event. . . . 

Toward the end of March he mentions being in the 
midst of mission work : finishing up the repairs on the 
exterior of the mission building, the work having been 
suspended nearly two years for lack of funds. This and 
some other things he felt he must see finished before tak- 
ing his vacation, to which he was looking forward with 
longing and delight. The date of his sailing was finally 
fixed for June 20. 

Regarding political matters he says: I am frequently 
amused at some of the grave editorial items in the West- 
ern Christian Advocate, and am sometimes tempted to 
write a little article on Mexican politics as I look at them. 
The editor thinks the present government is revolutionary 
and unconstitutional. Revolutionary it certainly is, in 
its origin, but take any one administration which has 
existed in this country, and you have to go back but a 
very short time to find its origin in a revolution. The 
mere fact that a given form of government, or administra- 
tion of that government, rose to power by way of revolu- 
tion is not necessarily its condemnation, certainly not 
when despotism and incurable abuses made that revolu- 
tion necessary. 

Whether this last revolution in Mexico was justifiable 
on these grounds or not, I leave for other and wiser heads 
to determine. The majority of the people seem to think 
it was. Its success against such odds with regard to 
resources, etc., testifies in its favor. With regard to its 
present modes of procedure, the new government cer- 
tainly is not revolutionary. On the contrary, it seems to 
be wisely conservative and progressive, with regard to 
all the truest interests of society and the nation. Un- 
constitutional it can hardly be called with justice, since 



82 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

its luuctiouaiies have all been elected in accordance with 
the forms of law and the constitution of 1857, and have 
been inducted into office by taking the prescribed oaths 
of loyalty. 

The permanency of the present administration is a 
jtrobleiu which cannot be prophetically solved. It has 
many elements of strength and popularity, and may stand 
firm till its constitutionally prescribed term expires and 
it is succeeded by another administration constitutionally 
elected, or the public peace may be most unexpectedly 
disturbed by the malcontents, with whom, to be out of 
office, is to be out of bread. Let us hope that peace may 
be prolonged ! 

The newly elected Governor of our State was inau- 
gurated last week! he is said to be a very intelligent man 
and favorable to our cause. I hope to know him per- 
sonally before long. . . . 

(To his Mother) 

PuBBLA, May 28, 1877. 
How strange it seems, yet how happy I am, to think 
that the next steamer instead of a letter will carry myself 
to you! This must be the burden and almost the all of 
my letter to you this last time. I am looking forward, 
not only to the great pleasure of a reunion with family 
and friends, but also to great spiritual blessiug for my 
own soul in the church privileges and (^hristian fellow- 
ship of our favored land. I must add one word more. I 
feel that we should all try to hold ourselves in such a 
frame of mind that, if I should be providentially pre- 
vented from seeing home this summer, we could bend our 
will to the will of God, and say, Thy will be done. I do 
not at all anticipate such a result, but let us be in the 
will of the Lord, assured that he will do all things 
well. . . . 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 83 

Happily, lie was able to carry out his plans, and sailed 
from Vera Cruz on the date he had fixed, June 20, reach- 
ing his old home in Ohio before the end of the month. 

The most important event which occurred during his 
vacation, was his marriage, which took place in the early 
autumn. 

Soon after reaching home, while on a visit to his uncle, 
Rev. Fletcher Hypes, at that time pastor of a small con- 
gregation in New Boston, Clermont County, Ohio, he met 
Ada M. Combs, eldest daughter of Dr. John S. Combs, 
a prominent physician and surgeon, well known through- 
out southern Ohio. 

Dr. Combs was a man of lofty principles, of great force 
of character, and of wide influence; a power for good in 
the community. He was intensely patriotic, and during 
the entire Civil War gave freely and generously of his 
means, aroused enthusiasm in others, and rendered valu- 
able and efficient service as surgeon of the 153d Regiment 
Ohio Voluntees. From early boyhood, he manifested the 
most earnest desire for knowledge, and improved every 
opportunity for study, in spite of obstacles that would 
have discouraged most young peoj)le. He attended col- 
lege for a time, at the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Dela- 
ware, and afterward took a course in the Ohio Medical 
College of Cincinnati, graduating therefrom in 1850. 

Two years later he married Cynthia Frazee, a young 
woman of fine literary taste and musical ability, and of 
a most lovable nature. She died within eight years, 
leaving three young children, the eldest not yet seven. In 
1863 he married Rebecca Gatch, daughter of General 
Thomas Gatch, of Milford, Ohio, and granddaughter of 
the two pioneers of Ohio Methodism, Philip Gatch and 
Francis McCormick. She was a devoted wife, a loving 
mother to his children, and sympathized with him in his 
desire to give them every possible educational advantage. 



84 THIKTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

After preparatory studies at home, and special instruc- 
tion from various tutors and professors, the daughters 
were sent to Delaware, where they entered the senior 
class, graduating from the Ohio Wesleyan Female College 
in June of 1872. 

Miss Combs made nmny friends during her college life, 
and was nnuh beloved. 8he was a young woman of 
charming personality, a brilliant conversationalist, and 
possessed of a certain inbred dignity and reserve, yet 
of a nature so deej)!}' sympathetic that those in trouble, 
even in disgrace, were led to confide in her. In his selec 
tion of helpmate, Mr. Drees was very fortunate. 

They were married on September lo, 1877, ;ind after 
a short wedding journey to the principal Eastern cities, 
they returned for a brief stay with their families and 
sailed in December for Mexico. 

Mr. Drees was greatly cheered and encouraged during 
this absence from his work, by the following letter from 
Dr. Butler, giving his imi)ressions of the condition of 
affairs in I'uebla at that time: 



Rev. C. W. Drees, Pubbla, August 5, 1877. 

Dear Brother: 

I have now been here four days and will remain three 
more. I find everything in perfect order and moving like 
clock woi-k. Mr. Luders is simply invaluable. The chil- 
dren are all well in health. On Sundny morning the con- 
gregation numbered, including the boys, 127, and in the 
evening thougli it rained, there were five or six more. 
The Sunday school had (il, jiiul to-day the day school 31 
in attendance. I mention the nunibers. as you will there- 
by better understand how niattei's arc. You are prayed 
for constantly in the congregation and will be joyously 
welcomed home again by them all. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 85 

Brother Luders got up an exhibition for us yesterday 
evening. We had music and speeches from the boys, all 
so creditable and showing so much progress. It does 
seem to me that four or five of those boys may soon join 
your theological class. Surely they are hopeful material 
and already know more and have better training than the 
young men we can obtain from the stations. Three of 
them spoke yesterday from passages of Scripture, such 
as, "Come unto me," "This is a faithful saying," and 
others, with so much good feeling and earnestness that 
I was quite pleased and encouraged. To us this improve- 
ment is more manifest than it can be to you. We see it 
and are grateful for it. 

El Abogado is still going up in its subscription list. 
It must be now about 1,150, besides our free list. John 
tells me in his letter of yesterday that the Vice-President 
and Minister of Justice sent flO the day before to pay 
for ten copies. Romero has subscribed before, so that the 
Cabinet of President Diaz is paying for 11 copies now. 
Quite a run of postmasters have sent for it of late, and 
some other officials, including the Chief of Police in the 
City of Mexico. Four or five of the papers have lately 
copied from us and give credit. Altogether, what reason 
we have to be grateful that this instrument of power has 
been commenced! It is also aiding to increase the at- 
tendance on our services. John says he had 140 in the 
morning and 135 in the evening last Sunday, with some 
respectable people also among them. 

Wednesday. 
Last night the chapel was full. We could not have 
seated six more. What is to be done to give you more 
room ? Here are the people hungry for the bread of life, 
and if you had a church you could soon fill it I have no 
doubt. O, if people at home could only see what I saw 



86 THIKTKEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

lasl iiiglit, that crowded chapel and that attentive au- 
dience, and such singing, they would help you. 

Mr. Luder.s preached .so well from *'My peace I give 
unto you." Didn't I want to exhort when he was done! 
I got three Spanish sentences into shape and was almost 
on the i)oint of venturing to address the people, but I 
feared I might fail in my little exhortation, and was 
deterred. I wanted to tell them how long I had enjoyed 
this '^peace," and what a blessed reality I knew it to be, 
and then urge them to come to Jesus and have it. 

Yours of July 18 is just in. So glad to hear from you. 
I must close as it is near mail hour and it leaves to-night. 
Our united remembrances to all your family. 1 remain, 
dear brother, Yours, 

W. Butler. 



Note 

For the data concerning my husband's parents, his 
childhood, and youth, his college life (see Appendix), and 
his first years in Mexico, I am indebted to various mem- 
bers of his family, and to a few intimate friends. My 
responsibility and part in the preparation of this work. 
selection of letters, and explanatory paragraphs where 
letters are missing, begin at this point. A. M. C. 1>. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 87 

My husband's first letter home was written from New 

Orleans, November 24, 1877. 
My dear Mother: 

Although we left Cincinnati Tuesday evening, we did 
not reach Montgomery, Alabama, until Thursday morn- 
ing. In the evening we arrived at Mobile, but had to wait 
there till 3 a. m. of Friday. Ada and I took a walk 
through the town, had a good supper at a hotel, and went 
back to the train for the night. When morning dawned 
we were speeding along the Gulf shore, for a large part 
of the way in full view of the water, with here and there 
a white sail in the distance. The country was very dif- 
ferent from the pine barrens of southern Alabama, 
through which we had passed the preceding day. There 
were cultivated lands, and villages following each other 
in quick succession, and we saw orange groves laden with 
ripe fruit. Even the forests and swamps were full of 
beauty; the trees hung with gray Spanish moss which, 
with its somber hue, only made the scarlet-leaved vines 
and rich green cactuses the more brilliant. This was the 
pleasantest part of our journey. 

About five miles out of New Orleans, our train was 
brought to a stand by a cattle train wrecked on the track, 
just in advance of us. We had to leave our car, walk 
past the wreck and take another train sent out to our 
relief. We finally reached here at ten o'clock this morn- 
ing, three nights and two and a half days from Cincin- 
nati! I have purchased our tickets and all is ready for 
us to go on board early Sunday morning. The steamer 
is the City of Merida, the one I came home on, but she 
has been remodeled and is much more comfortable. 

We are to dine to-night with Dr. and Mrs. Richardson, 
whom I met and traveled with two years ago in Mexico. 
He is president of the American Medical Association, the 
next session of which is to be held in Bufi'alo, next June. 



88 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

He is an earuesl Cliristiuu man, and much interested iu 
Mexico and our work there. . . . 

A iinriiiij; message of atfeetiun and j^ood theer from us 
both, went back by the pilot, and then we fared forth to 
the unknown future. 

Deak Mother: Orizaba, December 2, 1877. 

1 nniy as well continue the chronicle of our journey 
where I left off iu my last letter. We sailed at eight 
o'clock, Suuday morning, and with delightful weather 
and the quiet waters of the Mississippi, we had a most 
pleasant day until we crossed the bar, about four in the 
afternoon. Almost immediately after that we began to 
feel, in an uncomfortable degree, the swell of the ocean, 
and entered into profoundest sympathy with the heav- 
ings of the restless deep as it was lashed to fury by the 
winds. Over our experiences of the next few hours, we 
will dra\v a veil ! Sufiice it to say there were some mo- 
ments of mirth as well as dejection. The gale in which 
we started, died awaj' at last, and we got on very com- 
fortably until Wednesday morning, a few hours before 
we should have reached our first port, when a "Norther" 
blew up, so that when we did get to the usual anchorage 
ground the sea was running so high that no boat could 
come off to us. So, as the storm increased, the ship was 
put before it and we ran about sixty miles southward. 
The sea then began to break over the stern so violently 
that nothing could be done but put the ship about and 
steam to the northward, in the teeth of the wind. All 
day and night we were tossed about, hardly knowing 
whether we were in <langer or not. 

Thursday dawned with a (juieter sea, but it was still 
impossible to communicate with the shore at Tampico, 
Ko we steamed southward and anchored off Tuxpan. 
Here we waited till the next night, but as it was still im- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 89 

possible to communicate with that port, we went on to 
Vera Cruz, arriving early Saturday morning. After 
several hours of conflicting hopes and fears, we at last 
came to anchor in the harbor and were soon on shore. 
Got our boxes and trunks through the Custom House 
without any trouble, and started them off to Puebla. As 
we could not reach there without traveling on Sunday, 
and as it did not seem prudent to stay in Vera Cruz, we 
took the night train to this city, where we shall stay till 
Monday morning. . . . 

On our arrival in Puebla that Monday afternoon, we 
were met at the station by a kind old Mexican gentleman, 
who had known my husband in his bachelor days. He 
had a fine carriage and beautiful horses, and escorted 
us with great ceremony to the Mission House, welcoming 
me with much cordiality to his native land, and making 
many polite remarks, which had to be interpreted into 
English for my benefit. He was very dark, and foreign 
in his appearance as well as his manners ; and the throng 
of children who met us at the entrance, were so unlike 
any I had ever seen before, that I felt as though we were 
in another world. The enormous old chocolate-colored 
housekeeper, with antique hoop earrings and trailing 
gown, was equally foreign in appearance, but, to my sur- 
prise, spoke English, as did also the German professor 
who had been in charge of my husband's work during his 
absence. 

The building in which were our apartments, was a 
large, handsome stone edifice of two stories; the chapel, 
the professor's rooms, and ours on the second floor, and 
the schoolrooms, dormitories, and servants quarters on 
the ground floor. All these rooms were large and spa- 
cious, with very thick walls and very high ceilings. A 
long, wide corridor, with massive stone pillars elabo- 



90 THUiTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

rately oaived, was inclosed by iron railings, and extended 
the entire length ot the building, all Ihe rooms opening 
on to it. In the courtyard below was a large stone basin, 
with a I'ounlain in the center, and there were beautiful 
flowering \ ines growing luxuriantly, and reaching to the 
top of the house. A peculiar old spiral stone stairway 
led to the Hat roof, from which there was a magnificent 
view of the valley and mountain beyond. 

As 1 iccall tiiat lirst day, this is what stands out most 
clearly in my memory, along with our first dinner, in 
company with the imposing h»)usekeei)er and the German 
professor. Between the strangeness of it all, the unfa- 
njiliar food, and the homesickness that I was struggling 
against, it was not really a very hai)py alfair, but 1 recall 
with some degiee of satisfaction that we kept up a sem- 
blance of gayety befitting the occasion, and afterward 
sjient a jileasanl hour in the chapel, hearing the boys sing. 
There was first a \ eiy jiretty song of welcome, composed 
especially in honor of oui* arrival, and then various other 
selections, all arranged by the (lernuiu professor, who 
was a fine musician and a very versatile man. 

We spent the first few days arranging our house, which 
was a very unicpie one, the parlor having once been a 
chapel with a domed ceiling, forty feet high, octagonal 
in sliajtc with a window in each side. In one end of the 
room there was a wide, deeji niche or recess where in the 
time of the huniisilion a famous statue of the Virgin 
stood. This j)hit('. now divested of all oriuimeuts, we 
lilhMJ with plants, and drajicd above them our American 
fla;^' and made ii look as much as ])ossible like a little 
piece of honu'. With a large rug we had brought with 
us, a fi'W etchings, engravings, and jjhotographs, some 
cuiioiis old inlaid Mexican book cases, and the necessary 
tables and rliaiis, we soon began to feel quite settled and 
comfortable. 



CHAPTER V 

(To his Mother) 

PuEBLA^ January 14, 1878. 

Well, we have been here nearly six weeks. On our 
arrival I found my work in as favorable a condition as 
I could have desired. The congregations were well at- 
tended, and the interest of the people had been well sus- 
tained. The first Sunday evening of the new year we 
celebrated the Lord's Supper. The chapel was crowded 
to its utmost capacity, and there were over a hundred 
communicants. It was a very precious season, marked 
by great solemnity and reverence even on the part of some 
who came out of mere curiosity or to make light of holy 
things. On the same occasion I received into full con- 
nection in our church twenty-three persons. All of these 
have fulfilled their six months' probation, and seem every 
way worthy of church membership. I also baptized a 
little Indian baby the same evening. 

New Year's eve we held Watch Night meeting. It was 
very interesting and largely attended, at least a hun- 
dred and fifty persons remaining till after midnight. We 
have also observed the Week of Prayer, holding public 
service every night of the past week. All the meetings 
have been well attended. Other interests of our work are 
in equally good condition. The subscription list for our 
Mexican Christian Advocate is over a hundred and sixty 
for this station only. Our society here is now taking its 
first steps toward self-support. I have organized a Board 

91 



92 tiiikti:i:n' vi:ai;s in micxk^o 

of Stewards, and we are lieuceforth to make up a monthly 
collection for running expenses. The first collection 
realized §7.<j7. It seems little, but the willingness with 
which the great majority have entered into the project, 
promises well for the future. 

We are informed of the arrival of Bishop Merrill and Dr. 
Dashiell, and two other gentlemen in comitany with them, 
in Vera Cruz. They spent yesterday and to-day in Ori- 
zaba, and will probably arrive here to-morrow afternoon. 
If Dr. Butler is well enough, he will accompany the 
bishop to Guanajuato. If not I am to go as the repre- 
sentative of the superintendent. 

Our annual meeting will be held from the 8th to the 
12th of February, according to present arrangement. All 
the missionaries will attend, and also all my theological 
class, who are to be examined for admission on trial. I 
am very desirous they should appear well, and I believe 
they will. 

Things are very quiet here. Kumors of new troubles, 
if such there be, are nothing but mere whispers from 
persons so infectetl with the belief in Mexico's chronic 
passion for revolution, that they cannot conceive of her 
remaining long at peace, even under the most favorable 
circumstances. . . . 

The first event of importance after our arrival in 
Puebla, was the visit of Bishop Merrill, Dr. Dashiell, and 
his son and Mr. Trice, of Phihuleli>hia. The bishop was 
our first guest, and how much it meant to us to have him 
with us, even tho.se few brief days, to be eonvince<l of his 
interest in our work, an«l of his fatherly symjiathy for us 
pei-sonally. cannot be expressed here. It was the begin- 
ning of a friendship and affectionate regard that never 
varied through all the years that he was spared to us, 
and to the cliurch he served so well. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 93 

Orizaba, February 26, 1878. 
Dear Father: 

The last six weeks have been among the very busiest I 
have ever passed! On Wednesday, the 6th, we went to 
Mexico for the Annual Meeting. I was made secretary, 
and so was busy night and day till the meeting adjourned 
on Friday, the 15th. The following Monday we returned 
to Puebla, and on Friday came to Orizaba; I on business 
connected with the mission, Ada accompanying me to 
say good-by to the bishop and his party. They left yester- 
day for Vera Cruz, but I am still detained here with Dr. 
Butler, at Bishop Merrill's suggestion, to attend to the 
renting of a new mission house, and fitting it up for 
occupancy. 

You will be glad to know that the Annual Meeting 
brought out the fact of the great success of our mission 
in almost every place. Its only serious embarrassments 
are of a financial character. You will also be interested 
to hear that my theological class was ready to be ex- 
amined, and was sent out into active work. It was de- 
cided, however, not to reopen the theological department 
again until next January, owing to the heavy debt resting 
on the Mission, and the absolute necessity of reducing 
expenditures and avoiding new outlay. 

We greatly enjoyed the visit of Bishop Merrill and Dr. 
Dashiell, and Brother Price to Puebla, as well as in Mexico 
City, and this place, and felt very lonely yesterday when 
they were gone. . . . 

Puebla, April 6^ 1878. 
Dear Mother: 

Since I wrote you last we have two new boarding pupils 
in our orphanage. They are from San Pablo del Monte, 
and their father is Alcalde or Mayor in that town, which 
is a large Indian village about six miles from here. This 



94 THIKTEION YEAHS IN MEXICO 

uian heard stdiictliiiij^ about rrote.stauti.sni, aud ou cou- 
ver.sing with acquaintances about it, became so interested 
that only a fuller knowledj^'c would satisfy him. He then 
came to see me and begged .so earnestly that I receive his 
two boys, that I at last agreed to do so, on condition that 
he would pay their board. So here they have been for 
three weeks. One is a little fellow four years old, who 
could not speak a word of Spanish when he came, know- 
ing only his native Indian tongue. Already, however, 
he begins to speak and is learning rai)idly. His brother 
is about sixteen years old, and both are interesting boys. 
Meantime their father has been making a great commo- 
tion in his town, and thinks they will soon be ready for 
the establishment of a congregation. 

Politically all is quiet here at i)resent, though there are 
some rumors of new revolts in various places. The Gov- 
ernor of this State is now sending three of his boys to 
our day school. . . . 

(To his Parents) 

PuEHLA. May 1, 1878. 

Our work goes onward nicely. During Holy Week we 
had very large congregations. Al.so held some extra 
services. On Easter Sunday in the evening we celebrated 
the communion. Over two hundred people were present, 
and more than a hundred partook of the sacrament. One 
feature of interest was the presence of foity Indians from 
I^os Heyes, over thii-ty iiiih's distant, who came on foot 
Saturday to spend I lie Lord's l>ay in our services. One 
of their families presente<l an infant child for baptism. 

Three weeks ago I went to Api/.aco, the junction of the 
railroad from here with tlic main line from \vrii Cniz 
to Mexico (Mty. I had received repeated solicitations 
from Protestants lliere to estal)lish a congregation among 
them. 1 It at lii'd there Wednesday afternoon, aud the 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 95 

same evening met with about thirty persons. I explained 
to them how they could take the initiative, and they at 
once named a committee to circulate a subscription. A 
place of meeting was secured, and it was settled that as 
soon as the necessary amount of subscriptions were 
pledged, and the proper authorization obtained from the 
civil authorities, services should be opened. I returned 
here next day, leaving it to the committee to do its work. 
A few days after I was informed that the amount of 
about |20 a month had been subscribed by the people 
there. I hope that within two or three weeks we may 
hold our first service in that place. 

I must give you here a little account of my last and 
most interesting trip. I have known for some time of 
the existence of a Protestant society in the village of 
Atzala, about seventy miles from here. I knew that they 
were without a preacher, the only one who had ever 
visited them having been stoned and driven out of the 
region less than a year ago. A representative from 
among them came repeatedly to see me, brought me finally 
a list of the congregation amounting to over a hundred 
persons, with so urgent a petition for a visit from me 
that I finally determined to go. So last Saturday I 
started, having first armed myself with a letter from the 
Governor of the State to the local authorities. I took 
the diligence at 6 a, m., and after an all day ride down 
the mountains through the most picturesque scenery, 
reached Matamoras Izucar at 6 p. m. The roads were 
terribly rough, the day sultry, and my bones ached from 
the jolting. It was impossible to get farther that night, 
so I put up at the excuse for an hotel which the place 
affords. That night horses and a guide were secured for 
the next day. 

At six o'clock Sunday morning we were on our way. 
I was mounted on a not very easygoing horse, and the 



96 TIIIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

giiidf. well iiKniiitcii and aimed, led llie way. Going at 
a moderate pace we reached Atzala, nine miles distant, 
before nine o'clock. New.-^ was at once sent to the mem- 
bers of the little conjj^regation and nieetin<; was ajipointed 
for three o'clock. After restinj; lor a short time we rode 
on tliree miles farther to the town of Chietla, where the 
local anthorities reside. This was necessary in order to 
inform these authorities of onr i)resence, and ask pro- 
lection for onr service. The mayor is a fanatical old 
Ikomanist, bnt professed his readiness to keep the i)eace, 
and said if any disturbance occurred to let him know 
immediately. Of course if anything had occurred, his 
assistance would have arrived too late. Back to Atzala 
we rode, through the broiling midday sun. I was regaled 
with a real Indian dinner, eaten without knife or fork. 

Three o'clock came, and we went to the i>lace of meet- 
ing, a tli;itclic(l linl of sun-drictl bricks, about ten by 
twenty feet in size. A good many people were already 
there and, by the time service actually began, more than 
seventy persons were crowded into the room and about 
the door. As there was no window and no ventilation 
save by this door, which was low and crowded with peo- 
ple, you may imagine the boiling heat which we suffered. 
Bnt after all the interest of the occasion was more than 
a recomjiense for all its discomforts. There were the 
swarthy Indian men, seated on rude benches, crowded 
up close around me and the rough table that served as 
desk. FartJier away were the women and children, sit- 
ting on the earthen floor on straw mats. All were in their 
peculiar costumes, and all i»aid the deepest attention. 
As a new comer won Id enter, all would salute him and he 
them, in their own Indian language, perfectly unintelli- 
gible to inc. 

In the beginning of ilic service 1 baptized three in- 
fants, after which I incadicd as simjily and as earnestly 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 97 

as I could from John 3. IG. The perspiration poured from 
me in streams, but I had a good time and as attentive an 
auditory as I have ever seen in my life. After the preach- 
ing one of the men addressed me most affectionately and 
gratefully, and throwing his arms about me gave me a 
hearty embrace. Then all around I went, embracing the 
men and shaking hands with the women. When the last 
farewell had been spoken I mounted and with my guide 
started on my return ride to Matamoros, as it did not 
seem prudent to remain longer. I did not know but an 
ambush awaited me at the outskirts of the village, and 
the same fear seemed to be in the mind of the brethren, 
for four of them armed, mounted their mustangs and 
came with me three miles on the homeward journey. 

I reached Matamoros at seven o'clock in the evening, 
having ridden twenty-four miles in the saddle, under a 
tropical sun. As I am almost utterly unused to riding, 
it is hardly to be wondered at that I crawled from the 
saddle to my room like a confirmed cripple. I was up 
next morning, however, before four o'clock, at which 
time I took the stage for Puebla. Every jolt was almost 
agony, but at last at half past five in the afternoon I 
reached home and rest. I had traveled a hundred and 
twenty miles by stage and twenty-four on horseback, 
baptized three children, and preached in these three days. 
I am not over the efi'ects of it yet, but it paid, and I would 
start again next Saturday to repeat it if the work de- 
manded it. . . . 

May 2,3. 

Since recovering from a slight attack of intermittent 
fever, which I seem to have contracted during my visit to 
Atzala, I have been in usual health. Last Monday I went 
to Apizaco and made definite arrangements for commenc- 
ing services there next Sundav. Tuesday I was in Tlax- 



98 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

ciihi In secure tlio necessary authorization Iroiu the State 
govcrmnent. Here in Puebla our work is going forward 
well, though it seemed likely, for a time, that it would 
be somewhat seriously interfered with. This was owing 
to the arrival of an emissary from a sister church, who 
began visiting among my people, circulating a petition 
and endeavoring to draw them away from us. When I 
had reliable information of the course he was pursuing, 
I gave a short address to our congregation, which opened 
the eyes of those who had signed the petition, and showetl 
them the impossibility, which tliey had but dimly under- 
stood before, of belonging at the same time to two 
churches. I told them if they wished to leave us, I would 
gladly give them letters of dismissal, but when they saw 
they must choose, there was a strong reaction, and I have 
now little fear that any noticeable imj»ression will be 
made on our crmgregation when their services are form- 
ally opened. 

The same person went to Los Reyes, to try to draw away 
the Indian villages from us. Whether he has been suc- 
cessful or not remains to be seen. He has returned to 
Mexico City with the announced intention of beginning 
work here next month. 

There is room enough in this field without one church 
interfei'ing with another, so let him come, if willing to 
work in the right spirit. Meantime, to-night, a number 
of Indians from the very village this person visited last 
Sunday, are to be here for the celebration of a marriage 
and the l»apl ism of a diild. 

^^'e have had the windows of our church stoned a little 
of iate, but notliiiij; serious has lia|tpened. The heat is 
very extreme hei-e just now. and we are longing for* the 
rainy season to set in. . . . 

IM-. Mutler has resi;,'ne(l the superintendency of this 



THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 99 

mission, on the ground of continued ill health. From 
the tone of his last letter to me it seems to be his inten- 
tion to return to the United States in January at the 
latest, if his health does not require it sooner. I have no 
hint as to what will be done to supply his place. That is a 
matter for future adjustment. 

Brother John Butler has been appointed treasurer of 
the mission. . . . 

PuEBLA, July 8, 1878. 

Since I last wrote you I have made another trip to 
Apizaco and found the interest and enthusiasm of the 
people there unabated. We have removed the services 
to a larger place, provided by one of the members of the 
congregation and at less than half the rent we were 
paying. 
The work there is very interesting and prosperous in 

We have made a trip to Los Reyes, Ada and I, and as 
she is writing about it I need not duplicate the story, 
most regards. One of our congregations numbered over 
a hundred and forty. The interest is spreading to other 
villages, and there will one day be a large circuit in that 
valley. 

(From my letter home) 
I must have written you that some time ago about 
forty people, including several women, came from an 
Indian village and spent Sunday here. They brought 
their own food, and most of the time when services were 
not going on, went wandering about the streets, looking 
at everything with great interest and curiosity. They 
were very anxious for some one to be sent to hold some 
special services and organize a church there, and C. finally 
decided to go himself. The women of the party urged me 
with great insistence to go with him, and I was very 



100 TUIKTEKN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

anxious lo do so. 1 niiist admit that ('. did not urge me 
to go — on the contrary — but I was so enthusiastic about 
it. and so pleased at the thought of a visit to a real Indian 
vilhigi'v that he did not o])i)ose it, and I went! It proved 
a real experience to me. 

I did not know of the disastrous effects of starting on 
a journey after a fast of ten or twelve hours and, having 
no appetite at five o'clock iu the morning, I dispense*! 
with breakfast. We had to go by diligence, an old style 
Concord stage-coach, swung on wide leather bands, which 
gave it a double motion, so to speak, lateral as well as 
longitudinal. 

All went well for a short time, but after a few miles 
my troubles began and continued. C. was engaged in an 
animated conversation in Spanish with a fellow traveler, 
but did turn to me every few minutes an<l ask how I was 
getting on. As he had not favored my coming, I was 
loth to make any complaints, and for some time answered 
as cheerfully as possible, but at last my anguisli became 
such that when he next inquired as to mj' welfare, I said 
I was so wretched that if he would only stop the diligence 
and let me out, I would lie down at the side of the road 
and wait till he came back Monday morning I As this 
suggestion did not meet with approval, I finally con- 
sented to try and endure my ills \intil we should reach 
the end of the first stage of our journey, a small village 
not much farther on. TTero we f(Mind some fri'sh fruit, 
an<l rested for a few moments, which (piite restored me, 
and I had no further trouble. AVhen we reached Los 
Heyes, about noon, we were met by a lunnber of the lead- 
ing men of the village, and escorted with much ceremony 
to the i)rincipal house of the inwn, whei-e we were en- 
tertained. 

This house consisted of <me large roiun. which had no 
w indow and hut one dooi-. Tiie llonr wns of earth, and 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 101 

the only furuiture was a table, a few chairSj and some 
logs of wood which served the purpose of chairs. The 
table appointments were in keeping with the rest of the 
house, and were unique. In the evening a service was 
held in the same room and it was crowded to suffocation. 
When that came to a close and the last of the audience 
had departed, the lady of the house and her daughter 
brought in some doubtful looking bed linen and blankets, 
a straw mat, and two articles intended for pillows, but 
resembling more in weight and appearance a pair of sand 
bags. These they arranged with great care in one corner 
of the room, and then gravely announced to us that our 
bed was ready, and we could retire whenever we desired 
to do so. After delaying a little for the family to retire, 
and finding they made no move in that direction, we 
finally said good night and withdrew to our corner, where 
we made such preparations as were possible under the 
circumstances. 

I had my long loose traveling coat, and it occurred 
to me to use that instead of my usual night costume, 
so putting it around my shoulders, I unfastened my dress 
and skirt and let them fall to the floor, slipping out of 
them as best I could. The family sat in open-mouthed 
wonder and admiration during this process, and no doubt 
thought this was the white woman's usual method of 
disrobing. 

C. divested himself of his coat and shoes, and then we 
retired. Once we were disposed of the family blew out 
their candles and also retired, at the other end of the 
room, but without the trouble of disrobing. Incredible 
as it may seem, we slept, at least part of the night. The 
next day we had a series of services occupying most of 
the time, and remained another night. I assure you that 
when we reached home again our house seemed almost 
palatial and our belongings luxurious. . . . 



101' THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

(To lii« motber) 

PuBBLA, August 17, 1878. 

Ada and I have been for two weeks in Mexico City. 
1 bad to }^() to do some work in connection witb the publi- 
cation of two books for our Mission Press, and was kept 
busy day and nij?ht, besides preaching ten times. Still, 
we had a plesant visit and met a great many English and 
American friends. 

We made the aecjuaintance of Miss Swaney, who has 
lately arrived under ajtpointment by the Woman's For- 
eign Missionary Society. We both liked her exceedingly. 
She is not very old, is cultivated and devotedly pious, 
and at the same time sociable and jdeasant. I think she 
is very well fitted for the position slic liohls at the head 
of the school in Mexico City. 

She was in Chile several years, where her father was a 
missionary of the AnuM-ican and Foreign Christian Union, 
and lately has tau<!,ht Latin and mathematics in Mrs. 
Somer's school for yonng Uulies in Washington. . . . 

(To Dr. Combs) 

PuEBLA, September 28, 1878. 
Dear Father : 

Your last letter came nearly three numths ago, so I 
have suffered an unusual length of time to i)ass without 
answering. This is not due to any lack of remembrance 
nor of gootl intention on my part, but to the nund)er and 
pressing nature of my oi-cupations. I preach three or 
four times a week, teach several classes, have the care 
of the ditVcrent branches of our work here and enough 
literary ilrudgtMy, in llie way of corrtMting manuscript 
translations, to till up ail the spare houi*s. So my cor- 
respondence sutlers. 

Lately our work has been meeting with renewed and 
fierce opposition. This has taken the form of attacks 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 103 

through the Romish press of this city, coming chiefly from 
a miserable little sheet called El Amigo de la Verdad — 
The Friend of Truth. Its articles are full of the most 
scurrilous abuse of the Protestant ministers and people. 
Our members are charged with being the lowest class of 
disreputable people; are said to have been bought with 
Yankee gold. Good Catholics are exhorted to have noth- 
ing to do with Protestants, to turn them out of employ- 
ment, to avoid patronizing them in any way, in trade or 
commerce, in a word to treat them as excommunicated 
and condemned heretics. In a paper that came out this 
morning, I am honored with the title of Obispo (Bishop) 
and my wife with that of Obispa (Bishop-ess) — quite a 
distinguished pair of missionaries. 

We, that is preachers and people, are made the objects 
of continual threats. In order to point out to a mob the 
objects of their hatred, the same paper has begun to pub- 
lish the names of Protestants. In the midst of all this 
and more, our people stand firm, almost without excep- 
tion. We take all possible precautions and trust in God. 
The government is friendly and disposed to do all that is 
necessary for our protection. 

There has been much talk here lately of a war with the 
United States, and it is amusing to hear some of the 
people talk of it. One gentleman said to me the other 
day : "Of course we will as Mexican patriots all have to 
go to the war, but with no other prospect than that of 
certain death, for we are sure to be beaten in a war with 
the United States." 

People in general in this country have a very whole- 
some respect for our national resources and prowess. I 
am glad for my own part to believe there is no real proba- 
bility of war between the two countries. 

The year is hurrying on to its close and our Annual 
Meeting will soon be here. We have, as yet, no informa- 



104 TIIIirrKKX YEARS IN MEXICO 

tioii as to who is to be our superintendeut uext year, 
though it seems likely some one will be sent out from the 
United States. 

Tliis is Ada's birthday, but we are passing it very 
quietly. We have passed the first anniversary of our mar- 
riage, and I may surely be excused for saying to you, her 
father, that my briglitest and best hopes are realized in 
my wife. We remember all the birthdays of our dear 
ones at home, and scarcely a day passes but we are at 
home again in spirit. . . . 

(To his Father) 

I'uEBLA, October 21, 1878. 
There has lately been more than usual excitement 
against the Troteslauts in this city and State. There 
seems to be a general organized ellort on the part of the 
priests to rekindle the flames of fanaticism. The result 
is that every week brings fresh tirades of abuse and in- 
sult from the published attacks of our enemies, and the 
preaching of the priests. We hear a great many threats, 
and the danger sometimes seems imminent. But the 
government is disposed to protect us, and above all, our 
trust is in God who is able to make the wrath of man 
to praise him, and to restrain the remainder of wrath. 
Our congregations keep up well, and on the whole our 
work is such as to cause devout thanksgiving to God. . . . 

November 3. 

The latest event of iulercst in our Mission is the return 
of Hrollicr Jolui Butler, accompanied by his wife. Brother 
and Sister IJarkei-, who are apjjoinled to I'achuca, and 
Miss Clara Mul liner, of Camden, New Jersey, sent out 
by the ^V()man's Foreign Missionary Society to the Girls' 
Orphanage in Mexico City. 

Since I last wrote another has been added to the list 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 105 

of crimes like that of Atzala. Two weeks ago the judge 
of a small Indian town six miles from here was brutally 
murdered. He was the father of the two Indian boys 
whom we had in our school, whom we have mentioned 
before. We are not fully informed of the circumstances, 
but it is probable the man was killed on account of his 
Protestantism. Two days after his death the mother 
came and took the boys away. We were greatly dis- 
tressed, both for the sake of his family and for the cause 
of Protestantism, and were very sorry to lose the boys, 
who were getting along well in their studies. 

For two or three weeks there have been constant rumors 
that an attack was to be attempted upon us on the first 
of November or one of the following days. I finally in- 
formed the authorities of what we had heard, and on 
Friday morning they sent a guard of three soldiers to re- 
main in the house day and night. These three days, when 
it seemed most likely we might have trouble have passed 
very quietly, without the least annoyance to us. I think 
we have no occasion to fear anything further for the 
present. But Mexico is Mexico; and true to the history 
of the past, there is now very considerable dissatisfaction 
with the present government, even on the part of some of 
those who assisted in bringing about its triumph two 
years ago. 

Some think we shall be in the midst of another revolu- 
tion before many months. The old church party is 
evidently making every effort to regain its former 
ascendency. The extreme liberals are dissatisfied with 
the present government, because of its temporizing policy 
with reference to reform measures and its almost utter 
failure to fulfill its promises. It may be that Diaz will 
throw himself neck and heels into the arms of the reac- 
tionary party, and thus provoke a new civil war, which 
would probably have for its central motive the religious 



106 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

question. Ilowever, we hope ior the best, and trust God 
will order all for the good of his sacred cause. 

The Catholic papers here are still bitter and incendiary 
to the last degree, in their attacks on us, but we have 
firm friends in the present State and National govern- 
ment, who, so long as they are in power will no doubt 
take good care of us. 

Our congregations have fallen off a little in conse- 
quence of the persistence of the attacks of our enemies, 
but doubtless they will pick up again when the present 
excitement is over. We have been cheered to find that 
many love not their own lives, when it comes to the point 
of fidelity in the midst of persecution. . . . 

Not long before this our mission house was attacked 
about midnight by a mob of fifty or more, who succeeded 
in breaking most of the glass in the front windows be- 
fore the police arrived, but did no further damage. My 
husband was in Apizaco at the time and I was so sound 
asleep that 1 knew nothing of it till the next morning. 

PuEBLA^ December 30, 1878. 
Dear Father: 

At last we have tidings about the long talked of super- 
intendency. I received by the New Orleans mail my 
appointment by Bishop Merrill to succeed Dr. Butler 
when his resignation shall take effect. He is to retain 
the oflice until the close of the Annual Meeting, at which 
he is to preside, and as his closing act induct me into 
the office. 

We are to continue our residence in Puebla, at least 
for a year, and I am, according to the arrangement made 
by Bishop Merrill, to be preacher-in-charge of this work 
and that in Apizaco, teach the theological class, and per- 
form the duties of superintendent, receiving reports from 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 107 

all the stations, carrying on the correspondence with the 
bishop and with the oflSce in New York, and visiting the 
work in all the stations as emergencies may arise, or the 
interests of the work require. So you see my work this 
year is not to be any lighter than hitherto. Still, I am 
not required to visit all the stations, quarterly, and ar- 
rangement has been made to relieve me of the care of the 
orphanage. 

Bishop Merrill's letters are very kind and pleasant, 
full of consideration and of friendly interest. I look for- 
ward with interest and anxiety to the approaching An- 
nual Meeting, which is to be held in Mexico City, begin- 
ning January 16. Do not forget to pray for me and for 
our whole Mission. 

Christmas has come and gone. We had a very pleasant 
and successful school exhibition, at which the Governor 
of the State and several of his personal friends were 
present. Two of his sons took part in the program, and 
his three oldest children, two young ladies and a gentle- 
man, were also here. After the exhibition, we took all 
the school children, and as many of their friends as could 
get iUj to the parlor, where we had prepared the Christ- 
mas tree, and distributed about fifty cornucopias of 
candy. We did not give out the presents until the next 
day. Christmas morning we had service, and I preached 
to about ninety people. 

We are to have Watch Night service to-morrow night, 
and will observe the Week of Prayer from the 5th to the 
12th of January. Our new fireplace is finished and is 
very satisfactory. We take a great deal of comfort out 
of it. I have moved my study into the parlor, so as to 
have the full benefit of it. . . . 



\ 



CHAPTER VI 

PuEBLA, February 7, 1879. 
My dear Mother: 

Our Anuual Meetiug has closed, leaving me under the 
responsibility^ of superintendent of this Mission. I am 
glad to know and to tell you, that all the missionaries re- 
ceived my appointment to the superintendency most cor- 
dially, and seem willing to cooperate with me in every 
way. 

We reached home Sunday morning, and Monday night 
I left for Orizaba, to inspect the work there and introduce 
the native preacher to his new charge. From there I 
went to Cordova to visit the work in that place, and came 
back to Puebla on Friday. Tliis was my first experience 
as presiding elder! 

My work will be very heavy this year, and a little in- 
convenient to manage with my residence in Puebla, but 
the financial stringency which is upon the Missionary 
Society renders it necessary, for the present year at least, 
to lay the burden of the general supervision of the work 
on some one who, at the same time, should bo preacher 
in charge of a station. . . . 

PuEFiLA, March 6. 
I left here Wednesday, February 19, and went as far 
as Apizaco, where I had to attend to the purchase of a 
lot, on which we liope lo Imild a schoolhouse and chapel. 
SjuMit the artcniooii and iii}j;ht there, jtreaching in the 
evening. Next nioniiiij; rodo three uiiles on horseback to 

108 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 109 

see a land agent, returned, and at two o'clock took the 
train for Ometusco, where I arrived about five. 

I had a miserable supper in not very attractive com- 
pany ; talked a while with the station master and another 
young fellow about the religious question between Ro- 
manism and Protestantism, and then read an hour or two. 

My room, or rather the public bed room, had six beds, 
in a space considerably less than our parlor. I was alone 
till midnight and was just falling asleep, when a new 
arrival from the twelve o'clock train was ushered in, and 
ushered himself rather noisily to bed. Twice more the 
room was entered, with and without a light, and in an 
adjoining room such a loud conversation was kept up 
as for a long time effectually banished sleep. Soon the 
braying of numerous donkeys, and other indications of 
country life indicated the approach of dawn. "Up rose 
the lark (donkeys), and up rose Janet," and went forth 
to view the beauties of Ometuscan nature. 

At six o'clock I took the diligence for Pachuca, where 
we arrived about three that afternoon. Here is where 
Brother Barker is stationed. Mrs. Barker is just re- 
covering from a long and dangerous illness. The day I 
arrived she was completely dressed for the first time in 
fifty-four days. 

On Sunday I preached three times and attended class 
meeting, though I was most uncomfortable, my body 
aching all over, partly in consequence of the knocking 
about in the stage, and partly on account of a cold I had 
taken on the way. Tuesday night I held Quarterly Con- 
ference in Pachuca, and on Wednesday Brother Barker 
and I rode twenty miles on horseback to Omitlan and 
Real del Monte, preaching in both places, and got back 
to Pachuca after ten o'clock at night, having ridden a 
good part of the way through a dense fog and misty rain. 

Next morning at six o'clock I set out for Mexico City. 



110 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Reached llierc about five and preached that evening. 
Friday and Saturday were passed in helping prepare the 
next number of our paper, and in some business matters. 
I was detained there over Sunday and Monday, in order 
to meet Dr. Oilman, Secretary of the American Bible So- 
ciety. Preached Sunday night and started for home Mon- 
day night, arriving at five o'clock in the morning. You 
can imagine how glad I was to get there! 

The general work of our Mission is going forward pros- 
perously, and all the machinery is working as smoothly 
as could be expected. All the missionaries have been cor- 
dial toward me in my new relation, and the only trouble 
is that I have so much to do, that I am embarrassed by 
the consciousness that I cannot do all the work as it 
ought to be done. Then it is hard to have to leave Ada 
alone so frequently in a place where she has no com- 
panionship, and may at times be exposed to danger. How- 
ever^ I am determined to go forward, doing the best I can 
under the circumstances. Pray that T may be guided 
aright. . . . 

Orizaba, March 15, 1870. 
Y^'esterday a norther came up, and it rained hard both 
here and in Cordova. T was up at six o'clock, had break- 
fast at the railroad restaurant and went at nine to our 
mission house to open the school, and at eleven took the 
train for Cordova. In the afternoon went to see Dr. 
Merker, who lives alone in two rooms with a servant boy, 
three dogs, a rooster with his harem of hens and nursery 
of young fledglings, and last of all a tall, raw-boned 
white horse. The horse is a back yard tenant, but the 
small fry spend at least part of the time in the ])arlor. 
The doctor lias almost no furniture, but is as jolly and 
noisy as a school boy, and otVei's his house for our accom- 
modation whenever we come to Cordova. I dined with 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 111 

hira at his boarding house. His hostess is a widow, of 
German birth, who emigrated to the United States and 
was married the day after her arrival in New York, to a 
cook, a man she had never seen nor heard of before she 
landed. How she comes to be in Mexico I do not know. 
Her husband having died, she keeps boarders for a living, 
and is a splendid cook. 

In the evening we held services in Cordova, but the rain 
poured and very few people came out. The meeting closed 
before ten o'clock, but I talked with the native preacher 
till after one, had to get up at three, to take the train, 
and reached Orizaba at daylight, nearly dead for sleep. 
I found that room in the mission house as damp as it was 
the other time I was here, so determined to be more pru- 
dent, and came to this hotel near the bridge. It is kept 
by a German acquaintance, and I have a good upstairs 
room with a board floor, and am quite comfortable. The 
noise of the river is in my ears as I write. I am to preach 
to-night and three times to-morrow. A good many Eng- 
lish people seem inclined to come out to the English serv- 
ice I have announced for the afternoon. . . . 

On April 22 he left Mexico City on his first official visit 
to Guanajuato, and wrote from El Destello : We reached 
this place, about thirty-two leagues from Mexico, an hour 
ago. I got a little of the dust brushed off, had some 
supper and then found that the telegraph office was 
closed and I cannot send a telegram till to-morrow. There 
is no post office here, so I am trusting this letter to the 
best messenger I can secure, fearful that after all it may 
not reach you. 

My traveling companions are pleasant enough in their 
way, but I have not felt very talkative and none of them 
seemed inclined to talk to me, so I have been, as pleased 
me best, very much to myself. I have heard a wonderful 



ML' THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

M limber of marvelous stories of encounters with robbers, 
ill this part of the country. Most of them were related 
\)\ one very talkative passenger, who would seem to have 
borne a i)riiKipal and very heroic part in all of them. 
He also took occasion, two or three times, to denounce the 
Americans in no very elegant terms. 

As he evidently did not know me to be one of that peo- 
ple, I took no notice of it, though I felt a little "riled." 
Some other parts of the conversation held gave me food 
for relieetion as to the moral and social condition of the 
Mexican people. Perhaps my thoughts about these were 
no more coniplimentary than his words about my country- 
men. 

The greater part of the day has been very sultry and 
the dust terrible ! The road in several places exceedingly 
rough. We breakfasted after one o'clock at Tula. This 
is the largest town we passed, and is charmingly situated 
down in a deep narrow valley, witli a considerable stream 
of water tlowiiig by the place. The view of it, as we 
climbed the mountain side after leaving it, was beautiful. 
From four to half ])ast six the scenery and the tempera- 
ture were very delightful. . . . 



Guanajuato, April 27. 
We left El Destello at five o'clock Thursday morning, 
breakfasted in San Juan del Rio at ten o'clock, and 
reached Queretaro late in the afternoon, after a long 
ride of more than twelve hours. I got cleaned up, went 
to call on Mr. IMageiiiann, a German to whom I had been 
recommended; tlieiice to the telegraph office to send a 
message to you. After supper went back to see the Ger- 
man, whom I had not lieen able to find at my first call, 
and there met an Americo-Oerman pedlar, whose acquain- 
tance I made on my last trip from Pachuca to Ometusco ; 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 113 

was by him introduced to a Jewish American-German 
sewing-machine agent. 

After a few minutes chat went back to the hotel and 
to bed. Was called at two a. m., had coffee, and at three 
o'clock the stage rattled out of Queretaro. We had eleven 
passengers and were well squeezed. Part of the early 
morning I rode on the outside of the stage. We passed 
through Celaya, Salamanca, where we breakfasted, and 
Iraquato. Arrived at Guanajuato about seven o'clock, 
after a ride of a hundred and twenty-six miles in sixteen 
hours. Brother Graver was at the diligence house wait- 
ing to receive me, and I was soon introduced to the 
Guanajuato Mission home. Most of Saturday was passed 
in talking over mission affairs and walking about the 
city. In the afternoon we went up to the reservoirs. 

Sunday's program was service at 8 a. m. in the new 
chapel, Sunday school at ten, preaching at four, and the 
sacramental service at night. I went to bed at eleven 
o'clock a very tired boy. I like Guanajuato very much, 
and am greatly pleased with Brother Graver's congrega- 
tion. Yesterday there were about a hundred and seventy- 
five present both morning and evening. Brother Graver 
has no orphanage to help his congregation. There are 
very many nice-looking people in his church, and the 
spirit shown by many of them is very gratifying. 

Thursday morning at three o'clock I shall start on my 
return trip, reaching Queretaro in the evening of the 
same day. I was very much pleased with the appearance 
of Queretaro as I came up, and trust the Lord's blessing 
will accompany our endeavors to establish a mission 
there. It is no doubt a very fanatical city, but I believe 
our work will meet with success. . . . 

Queretaro, May 3. 
All day yesterday, from three o'clock in the morning 



114 THIHTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

till five in the afternoon, I spent in the diligence. Our 
company consisted of two Frenchmen, three Mexican 
women, and myself. I reached here safe and sound, and 
less tired than was to have been anticipated after only 
two hours' sleep the night before. I felt very lonely here 
last night, alone in this city, without a friend near me, 
and with the feeling that it was but a forlorn hope that 
of expecting to establish a mission here. Prayer, the 
Bible, and the felt sympathy of my dear wife comforted 
me and strengthened my faith not a little. 

This morning as a good preparation for beginning 
work, I read I'anl's experience in Athens. Later I went 
out to look up some persons to whom I have letters, 
walked over a considerable part of the town, and ex- 
amined three or four houses that are for rent. A little 
after noon, started for the Hercules cotton factory, where 
I found two Americans, brothers, and their wives, all 
very pleasant people. I went through the factory, spoke 
to two workmen who are Protestants, and they told me 
there were several more employed in the factory. So here 
is a beginning. 

I got back to the hotel about five, and in a few minutes 
the diligence arrived, bringing the native preacher, Val- 
lejo, who is to have charge of the work here. He is in 
the same room with me, but we have two beds. 

I forgot to mention in the proper place, that while in 
Guanajuato, Brother C'raver and I went to call on the 
Governor, who received us very kindly, and gave me a note 
of introduction to the commander of the federal troops 
here in Queretaro. . . . 

May 5. 

We have mot with as many encouragements to-day as 
we did disai)j)oiiilm('nts on Saturday. We have found 
some very good and apparently reliable friends, secured 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 115 

a suitable house, and shall leave Vallejo comfortably set- 
tled. I think I am none too sanguine in my hopes, but 
I am persuaded that if Brother Vallejo lives right, and 
works with prudence, courage, and faith, he will find a 
safe and fruitful field of labor here in Queretaro. . . . 

He reached Mexico City the following Friday night, 
preached twice on Sunday, and again Tuesday night. 
Wednesday he called on President Diaz and secured let- 
ters of recommendation for Vallejo, to the protection of 
State and federal officials in Queretaro, and at ni^ht took 
the train for Puebla, reaching there at daylight Thurs- 
day morning. 

(To his Father) 

Cordova, June 2, 1879. 

I left Puebla last Friday night and reached Orizaba 
the next morning at nine o'clock; spent Sunday there, 
preaching twice and administering the Lord's Supper. 
This morning I came on to this place, where I shall have 
to remain for several days. Our work here has suffered 
very seriously, partly from lack of funds, but more from 
lack of proper care and attention on the part of those 
hitherto in charge of it. 

The native preacher, who has been here for about a 
year, has to be relieved on account of his unacceptability 
to the people. He is really not suited for a preacher, and 
realizes it himself; so he is to be employed henceforth 
as a colporteur in another part of the field. In conse- 
quence of this, I am obliged to make some arrangement 
for supplying our congregation here. As we have no man 
available to send here, it will probably be necessary to 
sustain the services by sending some one from Puebla, 
once every two weeks, a burdensome arrangement, but 



116 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

the only alternative except that of the temporary sus- 
pension of the congregation. I am going to try to bring 
the people together and find out what spirit they are of, 
and then act accordingly. 

I am SOI ry for it, but I find too frequent proofs of the 
fact to allow of my being oblivious to it, that those in 
charge of the work have been often deceived, and our 
cause, in many places, is suffering in consequence of the 
conduct of those who were pushed forward as teachers 
of Protestant Christianity. The history of all the mis- 
sions of the different churches has been the same in this 
rcsj)ect. The evil has been fostered b}' the spirit of 
rivalry which has existed between the denominations. 

Perhaps the emulation was right enough ; but it en- 
gendered in each of the churches such undue haste to 
extend its work, as led to an undue effort to occupy new 
]»laces, each in advance of the other. So the work has 
grown faster than the right kind of agents to carry it 
forward. In consequence, the churches have been calling 
young men who were never called of God, were never con- 
verted, and were ignorant of the first i)rinciples of Chris- 
tian doctrine and practice. Of course there have always 
been enough young men in want of a means of living, who 
were ready to profess anything in order to gain money. 
In order to supply its work, each of the churches has been 
unwise enough to take up men of this class. 

Now nearly all the churches have fully seen this evil 
and its consequences, and the sifting process has been 
pretty thoroughly carried on. the leading churches hav- 
ing, at this time, a tried and faithful body of preachers. 
Our pieachers, however, now have to meet and struggle 
against the prejudice created by the ill conduct of their 
j)redeces.sors ; besides the difficulties incident to the en- 
ileavor to evangelize a Roman Catholic country. I am 
persuaded that this explains, in great part, why the 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 117 

spiritual growth of the missions in Mexico has not kept 
pace with their outward extension. 

I feel very deeply that for the future we must extend 
our work as God gives the right kind of men with which 
to do it, aud not multiply our agents simply in order to 
open new work. If we pray aud work aright, surely God 
will keep up the right proportion between the work and 
the workers. We need not pray the Lord to prepare the 
fields, for lo! they are already white unto the harvest; 
but we do need to pray him to send forth laborers into 
his harvest. Our church needs to give more money to the 
work of training its ministry in Mexico. 

The climate of Cordova is thoroughly tropical. The 
rain pours heavily to-night, indicating that the rainy 
season has fully set in. Two weeks ago, this place and 
Orizaba were shaken by a severe earthquake. Houses 
were rendered uninhabitable, church towers and domes 
were thrown down or cracked. The wall of the room I 
am now in has a wide seam from ceiling to floor. . . . 



PuBBLA_, June 16. 
I remained in Cordoba till the following Thursday, and 
succeeded in arranging matters satisfactorily, at least for 
the present. I then returned to Orizaba and held a serv- 
ice that night, coming on to Puebla the following day. 
I have been exceedingly busy ever since, writing official 
letters to the bishop and office in New York, an article 
for the Western Christian Advocate, and a sketch of the 
history and present status of our Mission for the Appen- 
dix of a new edition of Miss Rankin's book on Mexico. 
I have still on hand, unanswered, a letter from some 
minister in a country town of New York, asking for in- 
formation about Mexico and the Mission work. He lays 
down for my direction an outline embracing nine different 



118 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

headings, beginning with climate, soil, etc., and including 
the last details of the work of the Mission. I don't know 
when I shall be able to comply with this request. . . . 

MiRAPLOREs^ June 25, 1879. 

I reached Mexico City Saturday evening, on time, and 
had a good night's rest and preparation for Sunday's 
duties. Preached morning and evening. On Tue.sday 
morning, quite a party of us went to San Vicente to dedi- 
cate the new chapel. I enjoyed the day very much. Early 
in the aiternoon I left there on hor.seback, in company 
with Brother Cordoba and three other Mexican brethren, 
for Miraflores, arriving here at nightfall. 

When I got ott the horse ray limbs almost refused to 
support me, but I was able to be up early the next morn- 
ing, and went for a ride before breakfast, to try and cure 
my lameness before starting ou to Amecameca. To-day 
has been beautiful ; no rain and a delightful temperature. 
Brother and Sister Siberts and I have had long talks 
about the affairs of the Mission, and we agree very well 
as to the situation and its probable i-emedy. 

To-morrow we go to Amecameca, where we shall spend 
the day and night, returning to Miraflores on Friday. I 
shall stay here until the following Monday, then back to 
Mexico City, and home Tuesday morning! 

(From one of my home letters, dated August 25) 
We had onr little chapel down stairs dedicated last 
Thursday night, and will convert the one we have had up- 
stairs into a dormitory. Thursday morning at five 
o'clock. Miss Swaney, Carlota, one of the girls from the 
orphanage in Mexico Oily, Senora Rodriguez, the mother 
of one of the boys here, and Maxinm, Miss Swaney's cook, 
who also has a little boy in our school, arrived, to be 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 119 

present at the dedication and incidentally to make a visit. 
In the afternoon Mr. Butler and his wife, who had been 
spending a few days in Cordoba, came up and they were 
all here for that night. As we have but one spare room I 
was rather at a loss how to arrange to make them all 
comfortable, but with a little ingenuity, a couple of extra 
cots and a wide lounge, we finally succeeded very well and 
had a pleasant time. 

The services passed off most satisfactorily, without any 
disturbance whatever, though I had greatly feared there 
might be some trouble. The room was full and many 
went away, not being able to find seats. C. preached. 
The boys were all well dressed, several of them in new 
suits, and I felt very proud of them. They sang beauti- 
fully, too. These boys make me a lot of extra work, but 
I am so fond of them that I don't mind it, and would 
willingly do even more for them if it were possible. I am 
alone so much that they are with me a great deal, and I 
don't know what I should do without them. 

I suppose you will be going to Conference about this 
time. How we should love to be with you! Our visit 
home is a bright spot in the future to which we look for- 
ward with the greatest of pleasure, but when it will be 
we cannot tell. Have you seen the new hymn books, and 
have you noticed a hymn beginning "For thee, O dear, 
dear country, mine eyes their vigils keep"? The senti- 
ment of that appeals to me very strongly. . . . 



(To his Mother) 

PuEBLA^ September 8, 1879. 

As the time passes it does not bring any cessation nor 

diminution of work either for Ada or myself, every week 

bringing some new special demand upon us. Immediately 

after the dedication of our new place of worship here in 



120 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Puebla, I had to go to Pachuca, where I speut Sunday, 
preaching three times and holding class meeting. On 
Monday night, with the assistance of Brother Barker, I 
gave a magic lantern entertainment to the people oi" the 
Mexican congregation. I do not like the show business. 

When I reached Mexico City on my way home, I found 
it necessary to go to Orizaba the very next night, and did 
not get home till the end of August. Last week and to- 
day have been very busy arranging for the opening of a 
girls' school here in Puebla. Now within the next two 
weeks I must prepare the estimates for the whole Mission 
for next year, and write out my annual report and sta- 
tistics. Ada keeps as busy as I, and I believe is naturally 
more industrious. We are both well and strong, and can- 
not be too grateful for all the mercies we enjoy. 

Our work has its annoyances, difficulties, and perplexi- 
ties, sufficient at times to make the future look dark and 
uncertain ; but after all, we are hapjty in our work and 
can trust the future to our heavenly Father. . . . 

In October we went to Vera Cruz, Miss Mulliner accom- 
panying us, to meet the uew missionaries who were com- 
ing to take charge of the work in Orizaba, and help them 
get settled. We went on board the steamer, but they 
were not among the passengers. AVe met several Presbj'- 
terian missionaries, however, whom Rev. Mr. Hutchin- 
son, the superintendent of that Mission, had come to 
receive, among them Mr. Kyle, a graduate of Lane 
Seminary, Cincinnati, and his wife, and Mr. and Mrs. 
I'olhemus, delightful young people from New York. 

As we had word by lliis steamer that those we were 
expecting wonl<I he here by tlie lo! lowing one, we decided 
to wait foi- them, siiending the iiitei-vening time in Cor- 
<loba. We had rooms in the Mission House, an old-fash- 
ioned hiiihling wilh low ceilings and queer doors and 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 121 

windows; and on the second floor a long, low corridor 
running the entire length of the house. There it was 
always cool and pleasant, and besides having magnificent 
views of the mountains and hills and woods in the dis- 
tance, it overlooked the public square, which was full of 
orange trees, whose blossoms filled the air with their 
fragrance, and where the birds sang from morning till 
night. 

We took our meals at a small hotel near by, where they 
had delicious Cordoba coffee, and better food than is often 
to be found in more pretentious places. We met and 
spent several afternoons with the only American resident 
there, a physician and a Southerner, who had lived in 
Cordoba since the close of the Civil War, Dr. Russell 
owned a coffee plantation and several farms near the 
city, and frequently visited them; but the state of the 
country was such that he never went alone, nor returned 
by the same road. Even with all these precautions he had 
his horse shot from under him only a few days before we 
were there, and the week after we left he was attacked in 
his own house by three men who had some grudge against 
him and was badly wounded. 

The next steamer brought the missionaries, Mr. and 
Mrs. Umpleby, and also Miss Warner, returning from her 
first visit home after several years' hard work in the 
Girls' Orphanage in Mexico City. She is now going to 
Pachuca to take Miss Hastings's place during her vaca- 
tion. Mr. Umpleby is about thirty years of age, a gradu- 
ate of Boston Theological Seminary, and they were 
married in August. 

This is their first experience away from their own 
country, and we did what we could to get them comfort- 
ably installed in their new home. 

Examinations and the preparations for Christmas 
filled up the remaining weeks of the year, and in the 



122 THIUTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

midst of them came the news of the death of my youngest 
sister, the first sorrow I had ever known, and doubly 
hard to bear so far from home. 



(To his Father) 

December 27. 

Christmas time was very much saddened for both of 
us, but we had the tree for the children as we had 
planned, and such presents as we had been able to get 
together for them. Christmas night we had a little school 
exhibition and the presentation of premiums. Two or 
three members of the State Legislature and a number of 
other prominent persons were present, and seemed well 
pleased. 

Our work in general goes on well. We are now build- 
ing a little place of worship in Apizaco, and hope to have 
it finished before the bishop arrives. The church in 
Mexico City has been reroofed, and is to be reopened next 
AVednesday, with Watch Night services. 

This is the last time I shall write you under date of 
1879. Pray for us that in the new year God may grant 
us all comfort and grace that we need for the work, and 
for the sorrows of life. 



CHAPTER VII 

On January 28, 1880, Mr. Drees left for Vera Cruz, to 
meet Bishop Harris, who was coming to visit the Mission, 
and preside at the Annual Meeting. 

Cordoba, January 30, 1880. 

You will see from the above heading that I have safely 
accomplished the first stage of my pilgrimage. I slept 
some between Puebla and Apizaco, but the second class 
car was so crowded and uncomfortable that at the latter 
place I transferred myself to a first class compartment, 
where my only companion was a tall and somewhat talka- 
tive Spaniard. We placed two satchels on the floor, piled 
two cushions on them, filling up the space between the 
two seats which faced each other, and so formed a double 
bed on which we stretched out for sleep. The chief draw- 
back to my rest was the restlessness of my companion. 

We got up rather early, and the jolly son of Iberia 
began to relate, with all due pantomimic action, the hair- 
breadth escape of one of Albion's children who, being on 
a railroad track, between a frightful precipice on the one 
hand and a perpendicular wall on the other, saw a hand- 
car come rushing down upon him with all the velocity due 
to a steep grade. At the opportune instant the English- 
man leaped with all his gathered strength into the air, 
and before he alighted the danger had passed beneath 
him. 

At the critical point the Spaniard became excited with 
the story and, suiting the action to the word, leaped from 

123 



124 THIRTEEN YEAKH IN MEXICO 

the car floor with all his might. O woe! woe! he had 
forgotteu that he had not, like the hero of his story, all 
out of doors above his head, aud his uoggiu came into 
such violeut coutact with the car lamp as uearly to send 
that luminary out upon the roof. After a brief lull in 
the tragic scene, he began to examine his head, while the 
brakeman on the roof pulled up the lamp to see if it had 
suffered injury. The latter was all right, but the poor 
Gachupin's scalp proved to have suffered a rather severe 
abrasion from which the blood was oozing. In spite of 
the poor man's pain I could not help successive quakes 
and rolls of laughter. 

Arnica for my companion's head at the next station ; 
and I reduce myself once more to the second class car. 
Cost of night's rest and morning's joke — 40 cents. . . . 

Vera Cruz, January 31. 
I have just reached here, and find the New Orleans 
steamer is not expected before Monday. I am greatly 
troubled over this delay in the bishop's arrival, with all 
the consequences it brings. If he decides to take the trip 
to Guanajuato before Annual Meeting, I shall have to go 
straight from here to Mexico City. . . . 

This he evidently did, as they were in El Destello, the 
end of the first stage of their journey north, at ten o'clock 
the following Wednesday night. The next day they went 
on to Queretaro aud spent the night, or part of it, taking 
the diligence from there at 2 a. m. for Guanajuato. 

Guanajuato, February 9, 1880. 

We arrived here late Friday afternoon after a stage 

ride of more than sixteen hours. Brother Craver met us 

at the diligence house and we soon reached the Mission 

premises. We had supper aud talked till quite late. Ou 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 125 

Saturday we began to work up the matter of the purchase 
of property. The bishop fully approves our preference. 
Before noon to-day the matters were all settled, docu- 
ments drawn and signed, and the money, |9,000 silver, 
paid. Brother and Sister Graver are highly elated over 
this. To-day is the fourth anniversary of their arrival 
here. 

The services on Sunday were well attended ; I preached 
three times, held love feast, and administered the Lord's 
Supper. To-morrow we are to visit the new house to 
make plans for its adaptation to the wants of our Mission 
here. . . . 

QuERETARO^ February 15. 

On Wednesday Bishop Harris and I went to Leon, 
leaving Guanajuato at five o'clock in the morning. We 
returned to Guanajuato on Friday afternoon and came 
on to this place Saturday. I have walked so much on 
these rough streets, talked so much, preached so much, 
and been up so late every night and so early every morn- 
ing, that I am footsore, throatsore, and generally worn 
out, so that it seems hard work even to write. In one 
place the bishop and I were obliged to be not only room- 
mates but bedfellows as well, in spite of the preference of 
both for separate rooms and bed. . . . 

(To his Mother) 

March 20, 1880. 
I left Puebla the 28th of January to meet Bishop Harris 
in Vera Cruz, and from that time for six weeks I was 
only at home three days. I accompanied the bishop in 
all his visitation of our Mission, before and after the 
Annual Meeting. The most distant point we reached was 
Leon, 350 miles northwest of Mexico City. We visited 
Guanajuato and Queretaro; Miraflores, Amecameca, Aya- 
pango and San Vicente; Tezontepec, Pachuca, Real del 



126 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Moiite, Omitlan and Kegla ; I'uebla and Cholula ; Orizava 
aud Cordoba. Diiiinj^ his stay the bishop traveled about 
1,500 miles by railroad, ou horseback, and in stages. 

We were both very tired, and very glad when it was all 
over. 1 think the bishop enjoyed his visit, though he said 
that some of the traveling was rougher than anything he 
experienced during his trip around the world. 

The Annual Meeting passed otl as pleasantly as could 
be expected. Everybody was very much pressed with 
work, and there was little time for social intercourse. A 
friendl3' spirit seemed to prevail for the most part, and 
I think all were pleased with the visit of Bishop Harris. 

I suppose Ada has told you we are to move to Mexico 
City. I am to have charge of the editorial work in ad- 
dition to the superintendency of the Mission. We feel 
sorry to leave Puebla. Ada especially dislikes the house 
we shall have to live in. Still there is not at present any 
help for it, so we are agreed to make the best of it. 

I send you by this mail a little book written by Bishop 
Merrill, translated by Ada, corrected by myself, and just 
issued from our press. 

I cannot tell you how warmly our hearts respond to 
your expressed desire for our going home for a visit this 
spring, but however much we may desire it, it is utterly 
impossible this year. . . . 

Early in April we moved to Mexico City, and although 
it was in many respects a more pleasant place of resi- 
dence, it was with the greatest regret that I left Puebla, 
my first home, and the children to whom I had become 
so much attached. For some time the melancholy little 
letters from the boys and the no less dismal ones from 
Mr. Luders, my husband's colleague, left in charge of 
them, who wrote that ''the house seemed very wide" with- 
out us, made me extremely homesick. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 127 

At the end of the month, Mr. Drees went to Queretaro, 
to install the new pastor, Cordova, who was to have 
charge of the work there for the coming year. 

Queretaro^ April 30. 

I reached here an hour ago and found Brother Cordova 
awaiting me at the diligence house. He insisted on my 
coming to stay with them, so here I am, installed for a 
few days of my visit. The journey was without incident 
worthy of mention, except an amusing story told by a 
priest who was one of the passengers. 

He is just home from a two years' residence in Europe, 
has been in Spain, in Paris, and, above all, has seen the 
Pope! At the table in San Juan del Rio, the conversa- 
tion of the passengers turned upon the riches of the Pope 
and the splendor of his court, when the priest said that 
when he went to Europe he thought he would carry a 
present to the Holy Father. So he bought a beautiful gold 
cigarette holder. (I think the head of Christendom must 
receive some rare gifts!) He went to the Vatican, and 
walking through some of its courts, saw standing open 
the door of the Pope's coach house. He asked permission 
to go in, and was shown the carriage of state. The priest 
grew eloquent in his description of the vehicle, all 
covered over with fine gold and with the richest hang- 
ings and upholstery, and finished his story by saying that 
after seeing this coach, he concluded that the Pope was 
not so needy as he himself was; so he sold the cigarette 
holder for 200 francs and kept the money for his own ex- 
penses. What do you think of that as an example of de- 
votion to the Pope? .... 

May 1. 

This morning Brother Cordova and I called on the 
District Judge, Romero, and the Circuit Judge, Calero. 



128 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

We were received vcr.v Uindly. We then went to see the 
Chief of Police, but did not find him in his oflBce. After 
lunch we went to see General and ex-Governor Gayon. 
I presented Altamirano's letter and we were very politely 
received. We had quite an extended conversation, and 
received profuse assurances tlint nothinf; will be allowed 
to happen to Cordova. 

We have taken another house, not so well situated as 
this, being in a retired street. However, it will be much 
more favorable to those of the tribe of Nicodemus, who 
would like to visit Cordova, but are very much afraid of 
publicity. Another very important advantage is that it 
is just across the street from Uribe's, his most intimate 
and most influential friend. Uribe seems to become more 
earnest every day, and more resolved to stand by Cordova 
at any cost. 

This afternoon we drove out to Hercules. We found 
our American friends and one or two others, who were 
pleasant and promised to be kind to Cordova. Just as 
we got out of our coach, a diligence drawn by six beau- 
tiful white mules, drove furiously up. The driver threw 
the reins to the boys who were wailing, and then came 
up to the entrance to the factory. It proved to be Don 
Cayetano Rubio, the Czar of these regions. He came up 
to us with a profuse show of politeness, took us into his 
house, offered us beer, wine, brandy, and what not, and 
was very affable. Then he sent for Hopkins, the manager, 
and we gave him our tlmiiks and our good-by. It seems 
that Rubio's father and Cordova's were intimate friends, 
and as we came away he said that as their fathers had 
been friends, he and Cordova would be the same to each 
other. I hope he will continue as friendly when he learns 
Cordova's profession and the object of his coming to 
Quorotaro. 

I lliiiik llic iiiiiiicdialc cffccl of iiiv visit hero has been 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 129 

very good. The greatest obstacle to our permanence here 
has been overcome; Brother Cordova is very greatly en- 
couraged, and there seems to be a fair prospect of suc- 
cess. . . . 

Soon after the Annual Meeting, word came of the ap- 
pointment of Mr. and Mrs. Greenman to Puebla, and they 
arrived about the middle of May. My husband went to 
Vera Cruz to meet them, while I went to Puebla to put 
things in order for their coming, and make the beginning 
as easy as possible. They were just out of college, he 
twenty-five, and she three years younger, and both very 
bright and cheerful and inclined to make the best of 
things. 

In June we went for a week to Pachuca, where, in ad- 
dition to the usual extra services, we had a most pleasant 
visit with Mr. and Mrs. Barker. Pachuca is the center of 
a large mining district, and many Cornish people had 
settled here. The day of our arrival there was a tea meet- 
ing, always a very important event here. It was held in 
the church, the benches being removed and long tables 
arranged, with two ladies presiding at each, to pour the 
tea. There was a plentiful supply of bread and butter, 
cakes of various kinds, especially saffron cake, and gal- 
lons of strong tea. 

Later the tables were cleared and removed, and there 
was singing, hymns with ten or twelve verses sung with 
great vigor and enthusiasm, brief addresses, and select 
readings. The exercises opened and closed with prayer. 

AVhile here we visited Tezontepec, an Indian town about 
twenty-two miles from Pachuca, where there was a con- 
gregation of Protestants that had acquired without help 
from the Mission, a little chapel holding perhaps a hun- 
dred people. Mr. Barker, Mr. Drees, Gamboa, and Miss 
Warner went on horseback ; Mrs. Barker and I in a small 



130 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

phaetou. Tlie road for about fifteen miles was over a 
broad level plain, like our Western prairies, and not a 
house or ImiMiuf^ of any liind in sight in all that dis- 
tance. 

We were entertained at the house of a Mexican, the 
most influential man of the village, and he and his family 
the chief members of the congregation. They had every- 
thing very comfortable and clean, and were most kind 
and hospitable. We held services in the evening. Mr. 
Drees preaching. After this we had .supper, and got to 
bed very late. 

A bed was made up for one member of the party, on 
the floor in the parlor, and the rest of us were shown to 
our room! It was a very large one, and divided by an 
immense niu.slin curtain, stretched from one side to the 
other. There we found two double beds and one single 
one, prepared for the accommodation of Mr. and Mrs. 
B., Miss W., and ourselves. By moving the single one 
outside of the curtain, and making some changes in the 
arrangement of the other two, we finally adjusted our- 
selves to the unusual conditions, with enough amusement 
to repay us for any inconvenience suffered. 



QuERETARO, July 8, 1880. 
My long journey came to a safe termination yesterday 
afternoon at three o'clock. The trij) from ^Mexico City 
to Uuehuctoca was about as usual, but on arriving there 
I found that every seat was taken in the coach. We were 
nine inside and tliree outside passengers, five of the num- 
ber women. One of them went only to Xopala, and one of 
the men left at Tula, but all the way to Queretaro the 
inside of the coach was full. Before we were out of sight 
(»f lliiehuetoca we found that the roads were in a de- 
testable condition, and soon all the men were obliged to 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 131 

get dowu aud walk quite a distance while the coach, very 
much overloaded with the mails and baggage, labored 
through the almost bottomless mud holes. 

We left Huehuetoca at ten o'clock, and did not reach 
Tula till five in the afternoon. Seven hours to advance 
eight leagues ! As I ate nothing at H. and only tried to 
prop failing nature with a few bananas, a tortilla, and 
a small piece of very bad cheese on the way, you can im- 
agine in what a state I was by this time ! Here, however, 
we had dinner, and at six o'clock were off for San An- 
tonio, where we arrived three hours later. Just before 
we reached there we stuck in the mud, and all the men 
were obliged to alight for the third time. It was pitch 
dark, the mud partly stiffened in the first stage of drying, 
with frequent soft places in which some of my companions 
sank up to their knees. I fortunately escaped that. 

The coachman concluded to stop at San Antonio for 
the night, and after vibrating between the cheerless house 
belonging to the hacienda and the more desolate meson 
across the road, the churlish gachupin in the store con- 
cluded to give us rooms in the former. I passed a rather 
uncomfortable night. We were up at five in the morning 
and, after chocolate, continued on our way, arriving at 
El Destello at three in the afternoon. Had a fair dinner 
and hurried on, reaching San Juan del Rio at half past 
nine that night. At the unanimous request of the pas- 
sengers we were allowed a little rest, had supper, went to 
bed for three hours, were called at three a. m., and started 
for Queretaro. During the day we had to get down twice 
and walk for considerable distances, but finally arrived 
at our destination about three o'clock in the afternoon. 

Brother Cordova met me and took me to the Mission 
house, and after a little conversation and some refresh- 
ments, I laid me down and slept, with slight intervals of 
half consciousness till midnight. Then I undressed and 



132 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

slept again till seveu o'clock this luoruiug, which rested 
me all at once and very thoroughly ! 

To-day various people liave called, aiul Brother C. and 
I have called ou several others, and had considerable con- 
versation with them on the situation here. Looking over 
Die whole ground as far as possible, 1 am persuaded that 
it is not best to open public services here just now. The 
state of the country is too unsettled, and the friends here 
are not quite ready for it. To-night we are to have a 
little meeting in Cordova's dining room, and baptize his 
infant daughter, Sara Publia. . . . 

PuBBLA, July 27, 1880. 

I reached here safely Saturday morning, but did not 
sleep much on the train, and did not lie down at all after 
getting here. At eleven o'clock we started to Apizaco, 
Mr. and Mrs. Green man, Mr. Luders, and myself, and 
half a dozen boys from the orphanage to assist in the 
singing. Mr. and Mrs. Greenman had a room at Coronel's, 
Mr. Luders and I had beds at Mr. Cochegrus's house, and 
the boys slejjt in the chapel, having brought with them 
their blankets and pillows. Brother Palacios and his 
son arrived early Sunday morning, and I took a room for 
them in the hotel. The boys' food was carried to them 
from the Fonda, and the rest of us went there for our 
meals. 

Our chaj)el looks very neat and I am quite pleased with 
it. Sunday morning by half i)ast ten, we had a good con- 
gregation, and before Brother Palacios began to preach, 
every seat was full and many were standing. He preached 
well and the people were exceedingly attentive. About 
a hundred and twenty were present, and we dedicated 
the place formally to public worship. In the afternoon 
we had a short social meeting, with twenty-five or thirty 
people. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 133 

At night loug before service commenced, we had the 
house full. We had borrowed two dozen more chairs, and 
every seat was occupied and many standing. There were 
at least a hundred and fifty persons present. I baptized 
a child before the sermon, we celebrated the Lord's Sup- 
per, with about eighty communicants, and Brother Pala- 
cios preached again. We took a collection of |5.20. The 
day was very favorable and all seemed to enjoy it greatly. 
I think a very good impression was made in favor of our 
cause. 

We all came back to Puebla Monday morning, but I 
must return to Apizaco on my way home, and stay a day 
or two, to try and get some help for our debt there. . . . 

Two weeks later he was called to Puebla, by the sudden 
and alarming illness of Mr. Luders, who had fallen un- 
conscious and remained so for several hours. Some tem- 
porary arrangement was made for his work, and as soon 
as he rallied sufficiently, my husband took him to Orizava 
and left him, hoping that the change and a few weeks' 
rest would restore him to his usual health. 

(To his Father) 

Mexico City, September 21, 1880. 
Our home letters came this morning, the first we have 
had for six weeks ! You have doubtless heard of the loss 
at sea, August 29, off the Florida coast, of the steamer 
City of Vera Cruz, bound for Vera Cruz. The loss was 
terrible, only eleven persons being saved. A very curious 
thing happened in connection with the wreck. Of course 
the mail bags went down with the ship, but some of them 
washed up on the beach at Saint Augustine, their con- 
tents were dried and forwarded to their destination. 
Three or four of these letters were received here to-day. 



134 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

It seems the more remarkable when it is remembered 
that the wreck occurred thirty miles from land. About 
the time of this disaster the New Orleans steamer suffered 
such injury in a storm that she was compelled to turn 
back from Matamoros to New Orleans, and her mails 
were dispatched over land and have not yet arrived. 

Ada has been in Puebla for the last two weeks, attend- 
ing to the children's clothes and various other things 
which urgently required her attention, on account of 
Mr. Luders's illness. I have been exceedingly busy here, 
preparing the estimates for our Mission for next year. 
They are all finished at last and I hope will be approved 
as the}' stand. They have cost me no little work and 
anxiety. I was at them last night till midnight, and 
again this morning at six o'clock. If tlie authorities 
could only see matters as I do, we would have more money 
for our work. 

Several things have occurred here recently which have 
awakened a great deal of interest. Congress assembled 
September IG and it seems likely we shall have a peace- 
ful change in the administration. Two grand railway 
concessions have been granted; providing for the con- 
struction of two lines to the Pacific Coast and two lines 
through to the northern frontier, . . . 

A month later, in comi)any with Mr. Greenman, he 
made a trip north to Queretaro, Trapuato, Celaya, and 
Guanajuato. We quote the following details from a 
letter dated Queretaro, October 21 : Our first day's jour- 
ney was without special incident, and we arrived at El 
Destello at nine o'clock at night. At Tula we ate our 
home lunch, which proved very satisfactory and saved us 
two dollars. We were both very tired when we reached 
the end of the day's journey, but slept well and were off 
again the next morning at half past five. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 135 

We should have reached Queretaro at six o'clock in the 
evening, but did not get there till nearly two in the morn- 
ing. The roads were in a terrible condition, as you may 
imagine from our delay. Brother Cordova came to meet 
us, having heard the stage pass the house. We came here 
and found comfortable beds awaiting us. We had in- 
tended to go on to Guanajuato, to be present at the dedi- 
cation next Sunday, but the coach did not go, a dam 
having broken away some leagues from here, and the 
water flooding the road, completely upsetting all the 
arrangements of the stages. 

We then thought of trying to go to Celaya on horse- 
back, in the hope of getting through from there to Guana- 
juato ; but we were strongly advised to desist, on account 
of the danger of robbery and the probability of not being 
able to get through in time for Sunday. This failure to 
be on time is very annoying to me, but it is due to cir- 
cumstances beyond my control, and I must make the 
best of it. . . . 

October 24. 
Yesterday morning we took a coach and went out to 
the Serro de las Campanas, where Maximilian was shot. 
In the afternoon we went to call on Manuel Franco, the 
man who saved the life of Mr. Phillip, the Presbyterian 
missionary, who was attacked here some time ago. We 
met there the editor of La Sombra de Arteaga. On Sun- 
day we held a service, with six persons present besides 
the preacher and his family. I preached about the con- 
version of the Philippian jailer. . . . 

Celaya, October 26. 
We left Queretaro Monday morning at six o'clock, by 
a private stage, paying two dollars for our passage to 
this place. Our journey was without other notable in- 



136 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

cident than that about two leagues out of Celaya we came 
upon the stage which had just been upset, and had to 
take ill jtart of the wrecked passengers, two ladies, two 
maids, and four children. They were nearly all badly 
scratched, and worse frightened. We had breakfast by 
the way for twenty cents each. Our room here will cost 
us sixty-two cents each, and our supjjer thirty-seven 
cents. So you see we are learning to travel cheaply. 
The two railways to the frontier are to intersect at this 
place. ... 

Guanajuato, October 28. 

Tuesday morning we were up and off before five o'clock 
on the next stage of our journey, to Irapuato, fourteen 
leagues distant. The cars were such as are used on our 
street railroads at home in summer, open on all sides, so 
as to give a fine view of the country and plenty of venti- 
lation. The cars are drawn by horses and mules, changed 
at short distances. We reached Irapuato about ten 
o'clock, and two hours later took the diligence for this 
place, arriving at six o'clock. 

I find the new chapel exceedingly neat and tasteful and 
capable of accommodating as many as three hundred 
people. It was dedicated last Sunday, as Brother Graver 
did not get word of the impossibility of my being here 
till it was too late to change the arrangements. The 
attendance was very large, and though a few stones were 
thrown, there was no serious disturbance. 

The dwelling house affords five good rooms, besides 
those of the servants, and when it is all put in repair 
the accommodations will be even more ample. . , . 

QuERETARO, November 4. 
\N'e had quite a good love feast Sunday afternoon in 
Guanajuato. A number spoke and very well. I preached 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 137 

at night and afterward we administered the sacrament 
to a large number of communicants. The attendance was 
very large; the church and classroom adjoining were 
full, and a great many were out in the front yard listen- 
ing through the open window. 

The hour of our retiring Sunday night was made very 
late by callers after church. On Monday we talked over 
official matters, went to see a lawyer, and in the late 
afternoon rode out to the Parkman gardens. In the eve- 
ning we had a call from two of the Parkmans. After their 
departure we held the Quarterly Conference, organizing 
it for the first time. We had an interesting session and 
the brethren seemed pleased with the result. 

During our stay in Guanajuato I preached five times 
and the attendance on all the preaching services was very 
large and attentive. We left there Tuesday morning and 
reached Irapuato just too late for the train, so had to 
remain there till the next day. We arrived in Celaya the 
following afternoon at three o'clock. Here we met two 
Americans on their way to the interior and had some 
talk with them about the recent elections in the States. 

We left Celaya this morning at six o'clock and reached 
here at noon. Brother Cordova has suffered some an- 
noyance since we went away, but it has not been of a 
very serious nature. Brother Greenman will remain here 
for the next few weeks, preparatory for his final establish- 
ment here after Annual Meeting. I am sorry for the 
loneliness he must necessarily experience, but I think the 
result will be favorable to our cause and his success. I 
am sure he is equal to the test. . . . Then too he will be 
relieved of all anxiety about Mrs. Greenman, since she 
will remain with us until his return. . . . 

Two weeks later Mr. Drees went to Orizaba on his 
quarterly visit, expecting to go on to Vera Cruz to meet 



138 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Miss Hastings on her return from her vacation. Miss 
Hastings was the first appointee of the Woman's Foreign 
Missionai y Society in Mexico, and had been in charge of 
their scliools in Pachuca for several years. 

PuEBLA, December 14, 1880. 

Oil reacliiiii;- Orizaba, I heard such ahirmiug reports of 
the prevalence of yellow fever in Vera Cruz, and the 
brethren protested so strongh' against my exposing my- 
self to the danger of the disease, which seems to be pe- 
culiarly fatal this season, that I gave up the idea of going 
to meet Miss Hastings and decided to wait for her in 
Orizaba. 

I wrote to our agents in Vera Cruz to do everything for 
her which the circumstances may require, and also to 
Mrs. Trowbridge, the wife of the American Consul, ask- 
ing her kind offices, so no doubt she will be well taken 
care of. 

We held Quarterly Conference in Orizaba the night 
after I reached there, and I preached in both English and 
Spanish the next day. Miss Hastings arrived on Friday, 
and I went with her to Ometusco, where we found our 
guayin and Brother Barker's porter waiting for us. This 
man had never seen the cars before, and was greatly 
astonished at them. 

We reached Pachuca about half past three, half an hour 
ahead of the regular diligence, though we went tlie whole 
twelve leagues with one set of mules. Miss Hastings re- 
ceived a warm welcome and seemed very happy to return 
to her work again. Several of us took tea with her and 
Miss Warner tiiat afternoon. 

The next day I conducted class meeting from eight to 
nine, preached in Si»anish at eleven, and in the afternoon 
in English. After this service I convened the Quarterly 
Conference, wliich lasted till half past six, had supper 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 139 

and went to church again at half past seven. Gamboa 
preached and I baptized a child. 

After church I had a long talk with Brother Barker 
about some very perplexing matters, which conversation 
lasted till after midnight. Monday morning we went to 
Tezontepec, where I preached a short sermon on baptism, 
and baptized a child. After dinner I went to visit the 
school, and at three o'clock we set out on horseback for 
Ometusco; Gamboa, Euroza, and two of Mr. Orozco's 
people. We reached our destination, five leagues dis- 
tant, at six o'clock, had supper, and then my companions 
started back. 

I read for a couple of hours, slept half an hour, and 
then was called to take the train. Found Brother and 
Sister Greenman on their way to Puebla and got into the 
same compartment with them. On arriving at Puebla 
we found Brother Luders and several of the boys waiting 
for us at the station, and when we reached the house a 
fire was blazing in the parlor and everything looked 
cheerful, and as neat and clean as a new pin. 

To-day I must attend the examinations, and to-night 
hold Quarterly Conference. I hope to be home Friday. 
Four of the boys will go to spend their Christmas holi- 
days with us. . . . 



CHAPTER VIII 

The first event of importance in the new year 1881 was 
the Annual Meeting, lield in Mexico City, in January. 
Mr. Drees was authorized to preside, in the absence of 
the bishop, and everything passed off very pleasantly and 
harmoniously. We gave a reception to the members of 
the Mission, inviting the representatives of all the other 
Protestant churches in the city, and more than fifty were 
present. 

We entertained several of the missionaries during the 
Annual Meeting, and some of them arrived a week in ad- 
vance and remained a week after the session closed. 
Finally they all got off to their various appointments, 
the last eight, with their children and servants, having 
breakfast with us one morning at five o'clock, and start- 
ing away in a private diligence to their distant fields of 
labor in the interior. 

The middle of February we went to Puebla, and I re- 
mained there while Mr. Drees made hi.s first quarterly 
visit of this year to Orizaba and Cordova. 



Orizava, February 24, 1881. 
I had quite a comfortable journey last night from 
Puebla here, arriving about leu o'clock this morning. 
Brother Umpleby met me at the station and brought me 
to their house, which is quite pleasant and homelike. 
Mrs. Umpleby is well, and all absorbed in George II. 
Both the brethren have unbosomed their sorrows to 

140 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 141 

me and the situation here is very perplexing. I am try- 
ing to have patience and wisdom enough to do just what 
the circumstances seem to require, and they certainly re- 
quire something. 

We had service this evening and I preached and held 
communion service. The attendance was large, com- 
pletely filling the chapel. To-morrow night we are to hold 
a short service, followed by Quarterly Conference. 
Saturda.y morning we will go to Cordoba, where we will 
remain over Sunday, to receive a number of people into 
the church, preach, and hold communion service. . . . 

Cordoba, February 26. 

I was up at half past five yesterday morning, and went 
to the railroad station to send off some letters I had writ- 
ten the night before. Brother Baillet came up from Cor- 
doba and we walked up to Brother Umpleby's for break- 
fast. I spent most of the morning and afternoon as well, 
getting off one long and difficult letter and several brief 
ones. 

At seven o'clock we had service; Baillet preached and 
I baptized a poor little baby. His mother thought it 
would be a breach of most sacred proprieties to bring 
forward the child with its bottle, so she left the latter 
behind in the seat and brought the baby whose squalling 
protest might have been heard at an incredible distance. 
"A prudent man foreseeth the evil," so I sent them back 
for the bottle. So the service began with an undercurrent 
of sound from the rapid gurgling of the lacteal blessing 
down that infant's gullet. 

Occasionally the parents would slip the bottle away 
and the father would furtively tuck it under his arm, but 
the baby's protest always brought it forth again. When 
I came to take the child in my arms, I could hardly 
manage baptism and baby and bottle, so the latter was 



142 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

left behind. But the illustrious namesake and probable 
descendant of Ishmael seemed to appreciate the exigen- 
cies of the case and the peculiar delicacy of my situation, 
and did not cry at all till I was well through with the 
performance of my duty. Imagine my triumph ! 

After church we held Quarterly Conference, and after 
that I had a long talk with Brother Umpleby, and did 
not get to bed till midnight. This morning I wrote a 
little more, got my things in order and we came to Cor- 
doba, arriving here at noon. After dinner I went with 
the two brethren to call at Judge Sariol's and Dr. Rus- 
sell's, and later we went house hunting. Cordoba is as 
beautiful as when we were here; the weather to-day has 
been delightful. 

To-morrow we will have three services, and I may have 
to remain here over Monday, but at latest will go to Ori- 
zava Tuesday morning, and hope to reach home Thursday 
afternoon. . . . 

As soon as Mr. and Mrs. Greenman were settled in 
Queretaro, after the Annual Meeting, he and Mr. Cordova, 
who had already been there several months, began or 
rather continued to hold meetings in a quiet way, and 
the time seemed to have come when they might be opened 
to the public. We went up there to be present on that 
occasion, and Mr. Drees had planned to help in a series 
of special services the following week. 

On our arrival we found that a few days previous, 
the bishop of that diocese had published a circular letter, 
threatening excommunication to every one who, in any 
way, should heli) the Protestants, either by selling them 
provisions or supplies of any other kind, attending their 
services or having any communication whatever with 
them. Mention was made in the circular of the names 
of I lie missionaries, describing their houses and giving the 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 143 

street and number, as well as the name and address of 
another missionary, living in a town near Queretaro. 

This letter was ordered to be read in all the churches 
of the diocese in every mass or other service for a few 
weeks. It had been read for the first time the Sunday 
before we reached there, and as a natural consequence, 
the Protestants had been subjected to all manner of in- 
sults and annoyances ever since. A crowd had gathered 
in front of the Mission house the previous Sunday, and 
an attack was feared, but nothing violent was done. 

After much deliberation, and in view of the threaten- 
ing aspect of the situation, Mr. Drees sent a communica- 
tion to the Governor, stating the grounds of our appre- 
hension and asking protection ; but he received no answer. 
To avoid any appearance of fear or consciousness of ill 
feeling on the part of the people, we went out to the public 
square in the evening and walked about among them, 
listening to the music and talking together as if we were 
in the midst of friends, though we felt the hostility there 
was in the very atmosphere. 

The next morning before eight o'clock, the people began 
gathering in the street in front of the house, and in a 
short time the small square facing the Mission building 
was filled with a threatening crowd of men and boys, 
and a few women. Soon a stone crashed against the 
street door and then a volley against doors and windows, 
and within an hour nearly every pane of glass in the front 
windows was broken. Still the mob continued stoning the 
house, calling on us to come out, screaming insulting 
epithets, and acting like demons. 

By this time, the situation became so alarming, that the 
Governor appeared on the scene, accompanied by the 
Mayor and two or three other officials, and passing 
through the crowd said a few words to them in a friendly 
way, and urged them to disperse. The crowd cheered, 



144 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

and many followed him, but soon came back with renewed 
violence. Mr. Cordova then suggested and insisted upon 
going into the balcony and speaking to the peoi)le, urging 
that a few words from him, one of their own countrymen, 
would disabuse their minds and induce them 1o go away. 

This did not prove to be the case, and after listening to 
him for only a moment, they began shouting derisive and 
offensive epithets at him, and before any one of better 
judgment and more calmness could interfere, he drew a 
revolver and fired into the air; hoping, as he afterward 
said, that this would intimidate them. The crowd scat- 
tered instantly, but returned almost at once with even 
greater fury to the attack, and we would have fared badly 
had not the rural guards arrived at that opportune 
moment. There was only a small squad of them, but 
they dashed in from both sides of the square and rode 
through the crowd, striking right and left with their 
broad flat sword.s, and scattered the mob in all directions. 

By this time the whole city was in commotion, and the 
Governor ordered out a mounted guard of the Federal 
troops to be scattered in front of the Mission building, 
and another to patrol the city the rest of the day and the 
following night. 

About two o'clock a judge with his secretary and 
another official came to arrest the one who had fired the 
revolver, saying that he had wounded a boy who had 
since died. They took my husband's testimony of the 
events of the morning, and at his urgent request, allowed 
Mr. Cordova to remain a prisoner in the house, as it was 
well guarded, and we feared the consequences of deliver- 
ing him into their hands. Soon after dark, however, the 
Chief of Police came with an order to t:ike him to prison 
and he had to go. 

Early the next morning two special police were sent to 
remain in the house and go on errands for ns and accom- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 145 

pany any one who had to go out in the street. About 
nine o'clock Mr. Drees sent for a coach to go and see Cor- 
dova and to engage a lawyer to defend him, and to the 
telegraph office to send word to Mexico City. As soon 
as he got into the coach, although the two policemen were 
on the box with the driver, the people came rushing down 
the street, from every direction, following and crowding 
so close to the coach that he could have touched them on 
either side. He was out till early noon, calling at the 
Palace, the lawyer's office, and other places, and that 
crowd of three hundred or more followed him all the way, 
and only dispersed when he reached the house because the 
guard drove them away. 

In spite of this discouraging episode we still intended 
to remain and hold the services as planned, only post- 
poning them until "a more convenient season," but two 
days later the Federal judge came to say that the govern- 
ment troops in the city were under marching orders, and 
the police force was not sufficient to afford the necessary 
protection in case of another attack, which was already 
threatened, and urged us to return to Mexico City for 
the present. The Governor also sent a message to the 
same effect, advising and urging us by all means to leave 
at once. To facilitate matters, he offered to send a special 
conveyance and escort to take us as far on the way as 
might be necessary to insure our safety. 

There seemed to be no alternative, so most reluctantly, 
we began our preparations for the journey, which had to 
be made with the greatest secrecy. All the books, pictures, 
bed and table linen of the two families were hurriedly 
packed, and the china and bric-a-brac carried to the roof 
in baskets and let down over the back wall to the next 
door neighbor. This was Manuel Franco, a very liberal 
Mexican gentleman, who sympathized with us and our 
cause and who a few years before had rescued, almost at 



146 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

the risk of his own life, the Presbyterian minister who 
had attempted to hold services in Queretaro. An inven- 
tory was made of all the heavy furniture left in the house, 
and these were delivered into the custody of the Chief of 
Police. 

At two o'clock in the morning, the diligence arrived and 
rattled noisily into the large paved courtyard, preceded 
by a ni()unte<l guard of twenty-five or thirty men. The 
baggage was piled on the rear of the stage and the pas- 
sengers, fourteen in all, including the children and two 
servants, were soon in their places and ready to start. 
Our friend and neighbor, a picturesque figure in his wide 
Mexican sombrero, and shrouded to his eyes in his serape, 
came in at the last moment, saw us comfortably settled 
in the stage, and gave the signal to start. It was a 
strange scene and not easily forgotten ! 

The moon had gone down, but the stars were still shin- 
ing, and the whole cit}- was quiet as the grave. A boy 
on horseback rode ahead, carrying a torch, then followed 
the diligence, drawn by eight mules, and after that the 
guard of cavalry, a unique procession ! 

We were all very tired, but the excitement of the pre- 
vious days prevented our sleeping, and the few remaining 
hours of the night seemed very long. Soon after daylight, 
the officer in command of the guard gave orders to halt 
and announcing that we were now beyond the limits of 
the State line and in no further danger, and that his 
instructions were to leave us at this point, gave us a 
friendly salute, wishing us a safe and pleasant journey, 
and with his men galloped off. 

About ten o'clock we reached a town where there was 
a fairly good hotel, and decided to spend the rest of the 
day and night there, but in a few minutes the Chief of 
Police arrived and suggested that we go on, as he feared 
trouble if we remained, as he had not sufficient force to 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 147 

protect us. We then arranged to leave at four o'clock, 
but before that time a regiment of artillery, on the way 
to Mexico City, came into town to remain over night. 
Mr. Drees went to the officer in command and told him 
our situation, and he promised help in case of necessity, 
so we concluded to stay and rest a few more hours, and 
did not leave till four o'clock the next morning. 

One of our local preachers came to see us in the eve- 
ning, and told us some of his experiences, during the last 
few weeks. The first Sunday the Bishop's letter was read, 
he was passing the principal church, just as the people 
were coming out, and a man whom he had once taken to 
his own house and nursed through a dangerous illness, 
came up and spat in his face, in the presence of all the 
people. Fernandez, the preacher, only wiped his face 
and passed on, without a word. Several, twenty, or more, 
followed him to his house and stood about the door, insult- 
ing, annoying and threatening him and his family for 
some time. At last he went out and talked quietly to 
them for a few moments, urging them to go away, which 
they finally did. 

He said he intended to stay and do his duty as long as 
it were possible, and that he was trying to recommend 
his religion by his life. He seemed most patient, and 
hopeful and full of faith for the future, discouraging as 
the present outlook was. 

We started on the second stage of our journey the next 
morning, long before daylight, and except for an hour 
at a waj^side inn where we stopped for lunch at noon, we 
were on the road the whole day and until seven o'clock in 
the evening. It was excessively hot and dusty, and we 
were very tired by night and did not get any supper till 
ten o'clock. 

The next morning at five we were up and off on our 
last day's journey, and at four in the afternoon reached 



148 THIKTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

the end of llio (lili{i;eiue route. Here we took the train 
for Mexico City, where we arrived at eight o'clock, and 
two hours later Mrs. Greeunian gave birth to a little 
daughter. 

While we were having this troulile in Queretaro, our 
Mexican preacher in Apizaco, Monroy, and two members 
of his congregation were attacked, not far from the town, 
by fourteen men, and murdered in a most brutal and 
cowardly manner. 

The following month, we were cheered by the arrival 
of Mr. and Mrs. Kemble, under api)oiiilMU'nt to Leon. 
They were bright, ambitious young people from Ohio, and 
Mr. Kemble had recently graduated from the North- 
western I'niversity. They spent a few days in Mexico 
City, and then went on to Guanajuato to take charge of 
the work there during the absence of Mr. and Mrs. Craver, 
who had been granted a six months' furlough. 

In the meantime, all sorts of reports of the state of 
affairs in Queretaro had reached Mexico City ; the people 
declaring that they would never allow a Protestant service 
to be held in that city, sending their emissaries every 
evening to meet the diligence some distance from town, 
to see whether any foreigner or suspicious looking person 
was among the passengers, and in case there should be 
such, put an end to his journey then and there, and many 
other such threats. 

However, as soon as Mr. Drees was able to travel, for 
he was quite ill for several weeks, he started north again 
to make his quai-tei'ly visit to Cluanajnato, and see if it 
were possible to return to Queretaro. He wrote from 



El Dkstkli/), June 15, 1881. 



i'jL j'kstkli/), .June lo, i»»i. 

1 arrived licre safely at nine o'clock. There were only 

Gamboa, myself, and one other person in the stage, so 

we had plenty of room and plenty of bouncing as well. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 149 

1 Lave just Lad a cLat with Saturnino, tLe coachman, 
who takes us on to Queretaro to-morrow. He says that 
there has not at any time been anyone seen to watch the 
arrival of the stage or try to see wLo was in it, mucL less 
make any attempt to stop it. Every day the mounted 
escort receives the stage far this side of Queretaro. I 
have known Saturuiuo for two years or more, and have 
perfect confidence that he tells me the truth and would 
never consent to be an accomplice with anyone who might 
try to do such a thing as Mrs. Franco said had been 
reported. So, let us thank God and take courage. 

We came almost all the way from Huehuetoca in a 
drizzling rain which kept down the dust and did not 
hinder our journey. It has rained harder toward Quere- 
taro and the coach from there was delayed, so we may 
not arrive as early as usual and you must not feel uneasy 
if you do not hear from me until Friday. I fell encour- 
aged and am sure we may safely put our trust in our 
Heavenly Father. . . . 

Guanajuato, June 17. 

I have only time for a few lines to say that I reached 
here all right, at four o'clock, and found Brother and 
Sister Kemble well and in good spirits. This is quite a 
different atmosphere from that of Queretaro. 

During my brief stay there last night, I saw the Colonel 
in command of the Federal troops stationed in Queretaro, 
and he told me he had orders to leave there this week. 
He thinks it is not possible for us to do anything at 
present; says the people are so opposed to us that even 
if the government should prevent any public acts of vio- 
lence such as mobs, our ministers living there would be 
in constant and great danger of assassination, and the 
government would be powerless to prevent it. 

I am writing Brother Greenman the exact condition 



150 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

of things, and must leave him to decide the question of 
his return. I cannot take the responsibility of sending 
him there. . . . 

Guanajuato^ June 26. 

On Sunday I preached three times, with good attention 
and apparent interest on the part of the people. Tuesday 
morning, at five o'clock, Brother Kenible and I started 
to Leon, arriving about half past ten. The stage was full, 
so we had to ride outside, and our broad hats stood us in 
good stead. Brother Kemble was much pleased with his 
first view of his future home. 

We had breakfast and then went to call on Stoddard 
and Gardner, dealers in agricultural implements, who 
received us very cordially. From there we went to see 
Mr. J., preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South. He did not give a very tiattering account of his 
own work, or of the prospects in Leon. After three years, 
his congregation only numbers from ten to twenty in 
attendance, and thirty on extraordinary occasions. 
Though they have not suffered from mob violence, the 
persecution in other ways has been very persistent and 
severe. 

In the afternoon we went in search of an Englishman, 
Mr. Gray, and at his house met a Mr. Heyser, who is one 
of the foremen of a large cotton factory here. He frankly 
declared himself a Protestant, and invited us to visit his 
factory. We went also to see another Mr. Gray, brother 
of the former, who received us very kindly, and manifested 
great interest in our work. 

At eight o'clock we went to visit Mr. Heyser's factory, 
which is illuminated for night work by electric light, the 
first I had ever seen in operation and use for such a pur- 
pose. The establishment is very neat, has new American 
machinery, and is evidently well managed. They manu- 
facture only cotton thread, used liy makers of rebozos. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 151 

The next morning we went to call on Senor Estrada, 
formerly Chief of Police in Leon, and noted for the energy 
with which he compelled the Romish Bishop and his clergy 
to keep within the limits of the law. He received us with 
great cordiality and offered to assist us so far as he may 
be able. He thinks that Protestantism has not made prog- 
ress in Leon because of the character of the persons who 
have been sent there to carry on the work. He says the 
people of this city are quiet and tractable, and that there 
is little danger of anything like mob violence, especially 
as the State authorities are inclined to carry out the laws 
and give protection to all. He also told us that the govern- 
ment holds some property in Leon, which could probably 
be bought at a low price, and mentioned one very centrally 
located, which we went to see. 

We went again to see our countrymen, on whom we 
had called the day we arrived, but this time were 
received rather coldly. We judged from their manner 
and language, that they wished us to understand that they 
cannot have anything to do with us for fear of injuring 
their business. 

We started back to Gunanjuato at eleven o'clock, and 
had a hot ride of more than five hours. At night we held 
communion service, and I baptized a child. The next 
night preached to a large congregation. 

In the afternoon of this day. Brother Kemble was taken 
ill, and during the evening grew rapidly worse. We 
called a physician, who seemed alarmed at his condition. 
Mrs. K. and I were both up all night with him, and he 
continued so ill on Friday that the physician asked me 
not to leave until there should be some change. . . . 

QuERETARO, Juue 29. 
On Saturday Brother Kemble began to improve, and 
though still confined to his bed, will probably recover 



152 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

entirely within ;i lew days. On Sunday I preached twice 
and baptized a grown jjersou. 

Monday morning, at three o'clock, I left Guanajuato 
and arrived here early in the evening, my entrance to the 
city covered by quite a heavy rain. After supper, by pre- 
vious arrangement, I went to the Mission house to meet 
the police ollicer and take formal possession of the house 
and furniture we had left in their care. I had been 
perplexed to know how I should get the other things back 
without making a great stir, but the way opened by an 
otfer on the part of the same man who took them away 
the night we left. 

He proposed beginning at once, as it was very dark and 
rainy and few people were abroad. I went and came back 
with him with the first load, a very heavy trunk, which 
he let fall just at the entrance and against the door of the 
adjoining house, but I laid hold of it with him and we 
hurried it in doors before anyone appeared on the scene. 
This tirst venture encouraged us to proceed. 

He had to make seven trips, and it was half past one 
in the morning before he finished, and I could lock up the 
house. The next day, with the help of Gamboa and 
Narciso, we got the house swept clean, the furniture 
dusted and put in place, and unpacked enough bedding to 
make two beds comfortable, cleaned and filled the lamps, 
and bought, through the friendlj-^ family of Uribe, meat, 
eggs, flour, coffee, sugar, milk, etc., had a fire started in 
the kitchen and water boiling. After dark Narciso and 
I brought all the dishes back, finishing our preparations 
about ten o'clock. Then I went to the hotel to await the 
arrival of the friends. The diligence did not come in 
till midnight, but it put new life into me to see the dear 
Greenmans again. We got to bed about 2 a. m, 

Saturday we sent formal notices of the oi)eniug of serv- 
ices for Sunday, tilled out and sent invitations, got the 



THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 153 

organ into the house, cleaned the room for chapel, and 
got everything in readiness for the next day. 

Another pastoral of the Bishop was read in the Cathe- 
dral last Sunday. He forbids violence against the Prot- 
estants, but emits as usual a great many absurd slanders. 
When I read it I felt like doing as Hezekiah did with the 
king of Assyria — lay it before the Lord. . . . 

July 4. 

Saturday afternoon we received assurances that meas- 
ures had been taken and the police force had been in- 
creased. During the day several leading officials passed 
and repassed the house. Yesterday, just two months from 
the day of the mob, we held our first public service, four 
besides ourselves being present. All passed off quietly. 

This has been, is still, the 4th — the Glorious Fourth! 
We have not been able to celebrate it in the traditional 
way, but it has been a good day nevertheless, because we 
have found many elements in the situation which seem 
to promise well for the future. There has been almost no 
diflSculty in securing everything needed, only one person 
in the market refusing to sell to the cook. 

We called on Colonel Rocha, who received us very kindly. 
We also saw Colonel Garcia, who told us he has orders 
from the war department by virtue of which he can act in 
case of necessity without waiting for the State govern- 
ment to ask it. He says if we will establish a day school, 
he will send his two children. 

We have heard repeatedly that the Bishop and priests 
liave energetically instructed the people to do no violence 
to the Protestants, and that even sermons against Protes- 
tantism are forbidden. It is almost certain that the 
government has been taking a strong position with refer- 
ence to the conduct of ecclesiastics, and that this is pro- 
ducing its effect. Of course, it is not to be supposed that 



154 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

the real liostility of the clergy is auy less; but there seems 
to be an entire change of tactics. 

I think there is every probability that our workers here 
will not be molested again. So far as we can now see, the 
whole history of our leaving Queretaro, our action in 
Mexico City, our delay in returning and the jirecise time 
of our return, would seem to have been providentially 
guided. Certainly it was not a way of our own choosing. 

We met to-day Mr. Fuller of the Central Railroad, and 
he told us they hope to finish it to this point bj' December. 
He has a thousand men at work pushing up through the 
Cafiada toward San Juan del Rio. The earthworks out 
on the plain are to be finished by October. 

We have heard some vague rumors of the assassination 
of President Garfield, but cannot believe them. . . . 

(To his Father) 

Mexico City, July 13. 
I arrived here this morning after a rather fatiguing 
journey of more than two days and nights. I have been 
away from home just four weeks, and traveled about seven 
hundred miles, chiefly by stage. 1 have visited Leon, 
Guanajuato, and Queretaro. While in the latter place 
Brother Greenman and family arrived, and our ])ublic 
services were begun on Sunday, July 'A, just three months 
after the mob attack. Only four persons were present 
besides those connected with the Mission, but we consider 
it a great triumph for our cause that we were able to hold 
a service publicly, without the least disturbance, in that 
fanatical city, when there have been such persistent and 
violent ellorts to prevent it. We felt greatly sustained by 
the prayers of our friends, so many of ^^ liom we knew were 
rcmenibei'ing us at the Tin-one of Grace. I have come 
home to meet other pressing ditliculties and emergencies 
in connection with other departments and interests of 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 155 

our work. I feel very iusuflScient for all these things, and 
hope you will not cease to pray for me that I may have 
wisdom from above with which to meet and discharge my 
varied responsibilities. . . . 

(From a letter of Mine) 

August 31. 

The young Mexican preacher, Gamboa, who went with 
C. to Queretaro just after the mob, and has been carry- 
ing on the services there under Mr. Greenman's direction, 
arrived here last night on a month's leave of absence to be 
married. 

In the meantime Mr. Greenman is left quite alone in 
his work, and as there are now services every Sunday 
morning as well as twice during the week, and his knowl- 
edge and use of Spanish are still very limited, it is no 
small undertaking. 

Everything has gone on quietly there thus far, and the 
outlook is very encouraging. At the last service there 
were twelve present besides those connected with the 
Mission. The rural guard who came to buy a Bible, the 
day after the mob, and who had some conversation at the 
time with C, now comes regularly to service and brings 
his wife with him, and also one of his comrades. . . . 

,, T,^ Mexico City, September 3, 1881. 

My dear Mother : > t- > 

After my return from Queretaro I was only here long 

enough to issue our monthly paper, and then went with 

Ada to Miraflores for three days, holding the usual series 

of quarterly services and having a very pleasant visit with 

Brother and Sister Siberts. We returned on Mondaj^, and 

on Tuesday night started to Orizava. I was detained 

there full two weeks, visiting Cordoba in the meantime. 

We were then a week in Puebla, after which we came 

home, to prepare another number of our paper. 



!.-,(; TiiiKTi:i:x yi:aks in Mexico 

Last Sunday J was in Pachiica; preached three times, 
administered the Lord's Supper twice and baptized two 
rhildreu. Returned home Monday evening, and have been 
very busy ever since with niy oOicial correspondence. I 
must return there the latter part of next week to take 
a horseback tour with Brother Barker, exploring some 
new places and visiting the work already established. 

Bishop Andrews is to hold the Annual Meeting on 
February 2. I suppose he will be here about the middle 
of January, . . . 

Pachuca, September 17. 

I reache<l Onietusco at midnight; went to bed but could 
not sleej), as there were people noising around till after 
two o'clock. I got uj) a little after five, having had less 
than three hours sleep. Had a cup of very poor coffee, and 
started for I'achuca. On the way had a little more coffee 
of an even worse quality, and arrived here at half past 
ten. Started at once for Tulancingo, and rode six leagues 
1o Iluasca, without stopping. 

in Oniitlan, I was joined by Gamboa and Brother 
Barker's man, .losi'' Maria. We stopped on the way long 
enough to eat a fried egg and take a little more coffee, 
and were off again. We rode seven leagues further, with- 
out any stoj), reaching Tulancingo late in the afternoon, 
having traveled in about twelve hours twenty-six leagues, 
more than li;iir ihc distance on horseback. You can 
imagine how stitl and sore I was! We went to the hotel, 
whei-e we had breakfast, dinner, and supper all in one. 

Afterwards several friends of the cause came to my 
room and stayed till after ten o'clock, when we had 
prayei-s and sejiarated fcjr the night. We got up early the 
ne.xt morning, and spcni (lie day in visiting people and 
making an-angenii'iits for a service at night. At eight 
o'clock I ]treached the tirst I'rotestant sermon in Tulcau- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 157 

cingo, to sixteen persons besides Brothers Barker and 
Gamboa. I took for my text 'These that have turned the 
world upside down have come hither also." 

We made arrangements for a preaching service every 
two weeks. 

We left Tulancingo Friday morning at five o'clock, and 
rode across the mountains to Omitlan, ten leagues distant, 
arriving at about eleven. At three o'clock, I baptized a 
child, and Brother Barker married Gaboa, We left Omit- 
lan at four and reached Pachuca two hours later. After 
supper I went to see Coronel and his wife, whose little 
child had died that afternoon. We go to-morrow to 
Tezontepec to spend Sunday, and I hope to be at home 
Monday night. . . . 

QuERBTARo^ October 30, 1881. 

Here I am safe in Queretaro, after a very hard journey. 
Our troubles began very soon. Before we reached Tula 
we came to a break in the road bed, and our train was 
delayed three hours, so that it was 2 p. m., when we 
arrived at San Antonio. Some time passed in getting the 
diligence ready, but we finally got off about three o'clock. 

We were nine passengers, three Spaniards, one French- 
man, four Mexicans, and myself. The roads were so bad 
we did not reach El Destello till three o'clock Friday 
morning. The apples, oranges, and cake you put in the 
little basket, did good service in keeping up my spirits, 
as I had nothing else to eat all day. Had a light lunch 
on our arrival in El Destello, and got to bed at once. I 
forgot to say that in the early part of the night we had 
to get out and walk quite a distance, and I got into the 
mud pretty badly. 

We slept nearly three hours when the call came to get 
up, and we started on our way again. We had a little 
Mexican lunch at Mai Paso, and arrived at San Juan del 



158 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Rio at 2 r. m. The trips of the diligences were so com- 
pletely dis;iii-an <;('(], that there was no fresh team here 
to take us forward, so we had to stay all night. 

I took a walk to see the new railroad bridge under 
construction, and went to call on George Skilton and wife, 
who are temporarily resident in San .luau. They invited 
me to stay to tea and spend the evening, which I did and 
had a very pleasant time. 

The next morning we were called at half past three and 
started on our third day's journey at five o'clock. We 
had only gone about two leagues when we stuck fast in a 
bad mud hole. The mules could not stir the coach and, 
after repeated and fruitless endeavors to mend matters, 
the coachman sent to the nearest farm to ask for oxen. 
After some delay, sixteen oxen and eight or ten farm 
hands appeared on the scene. Then came repeated efforts 
with two, four, and six yoke of oxen to move the coach 
first backward and then forward. All was in vain until 
the coach was uidoaded and partially digged out, when 
finally it was pulled out of the ditch by six yoke of oxen. 

The coach was then reloaded, passengers got in, and 
with the help of fourteen oxen, we succeeded in getting 
about half a league further, when we met the coach bound 
for Mexico City, and exchanged our oxen for the mules 
of that vehicle. We also change<l coachmen for the better, 
and with much wliipi)ing of the mules and swearing of 
the drivers, we finally got to an inn, called Crucitas. It 
was now after two o'clock. 

AVe had something to eat, and waited in vain for the 
appeai'ance of a fresh team which had been sent for to 
take us to the next posthouse a league further on. Finally, 
at five o'cl(n-k, we concluded to wait no longer, and started 
on foot foi- VA Sauz. which we ivached in safety. Here 
we had siippci- and got very poor accommodations for 
sleeping. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 159 

I had to share, and was fortunate in being invited to do 
so, a narrow, single mattress with a tall, bearded German, 
as large as myself. We got along very amicably, and 
after some conversation slept till half past one, when we 
got np to be ready to start, as agreed upon, at two o'clock. 
We did not get off however, till nearly four, owing to 
the laziness or slowness of the coachmen. 

We toiled painfully through the first post, having to 
walk about a mile after having assisted in getting the 
coach out of another mud hole, but finally at twelve 
o'clock we reached Queretaro. I was not sorry to part 
with my fellow travelers, one of whom was constantly 
drunk and still a-drinking, and two others of whom dur- 
ing our three days and a half of enforced association, con- 
firmed my conviction that Spaniards are the foulest 
mouthed people on the globe. 

Brother Greenman and the porter were at the Diligence 
House to meet me, and I was soon comfortably settled in 
this pleasant mission home. When I reached the house, 
the congregation was still waiting to see me, and as soon 
as I could make myself presentable, I went down and 
spoke to them for half an hour. Now for a good night's 
rest, and preparation for to-morrow. . . . 

Wednesday. 

We held a special service Tuesday afternoon, with the 
administration of the Lord's Supper, about twenty per- 
sons being present. I preached again at night, and this 
service was also well attended. The condition of our 
work here is still a very trying one, and our good friends 
have to suffer a constant strain, which must be very hard 
to bear. . . . 

Guanajuato, November 6. 

I left Queretaro early Thursday morning and reached 
Celaya, where we had to stay all night, at four in the 



160 TTTIKTEEX YEARS IN MEXICO 

afternoon. The next day, started on to Guanajuato, where 
we arrive<l at (! p. m. Received a warm welcome from 
Brother K. and his wife, and indeed from all the people 
of the congregation. 

We held two preaching services during the day and 
one at night, and another the following night, together 
with the Sacrament and Quarterly Conference. I expect 
to leave here for Queretaro Tuesday or Wednesday, and 
hope to be at home by Saturday night. . . . 

He carried out this plan and arrived at the time he 
expected, having been away from home seventeen days, 
ten and a half of which were spent on the road ! 

During this absence, word came of the alarming con- 
dition of Mr. Lnders, and it seemed necessary for him to 
leave Puebla at once and consult some specialist in Mexico 
City. This he did, and we made him as comfortable as 
possible in our own home, whose quiet he greatly ap- 
preciated, and where the conditions were most favorable 
for his recovery. He seemed to im])rove at first, and the 
physician in charge of his case thought it not entirely 
hopeless ; but later, serious symptoms developed and a 
consultation was held in which it was decided that he had 
Bright's disease of the kidneys, and that his heart was 
seriously affected. They advised his removal, after a few 
weeks, to a warmer climate, and on my husband's return 
we had one of the larger boys from the orphanage come 
up to help our servant take care of him. while we went 
to Puebla to attend to the work there and relieve his mind 
as to that. 

(To his Father) 

Puebla, December 2, 1881. 
T am so much away from home and so driven with 
accumulated work when I am there, that I scarcely have 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 161 

more than time to keep up the most necessary official 
correspondence with the missionaries here and the 
authorities at home. I am glad that with the forty-six 
pages which I am sending off to-night, including the 
Annual Report of the Mission, I shall be about even with 
my official correspondence. 

Since I have been down here, I have been trying to 
bring up my occasional letters in answer to people who 
write to me about almost everything. For instance, I 
sent answer a few days ago to a wealthy and public spir- 
ited maiden lady of New York City, who wrote to me 
asking how the streets are kept clean in Puebla. Another 
in answer to a recommendation of a lady in New Orleans, 
as translator and teacher. 

I have, waiting for a reply, two or three letters from 
different missionary societies asking for long letters about 
our work, another inquiring how much it costs to live in 
Mexico, another asking me to copy and send an old Latin 
inscription to be found in some out-of-the-way corner of 
the old convent of the Inquisition in Mexico City, etc. 

We are having some trouble in different parts of our 
mission from our fanatical enemies. I learned only to- 
day, that Brother Mendoza has been arrested, tried, and 
condemmed on a charge trumped up and sworn to by 
false witnesses. This is in Silao near Guanajuato. I 
am as certain as can possibly be that he is perfectly 
innocent. 

Near Tezcoco also the native preacher was fired at, 
as he was returning from the funeral of a member of his 
congregation. The shot missed him, but the perpetrators 
of the deed had him arrested, alleging that he fired at a 
woman walking quietly along the road. He was in prison 
several days in San Vicente, and then Texcoco, but was 
finally acquitted and allowed to go home. 

We often have fightings without and fears within, but 



162 TIIIirrEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

oiir trust is in God, who will surely give us the 
victory 

Two weeks later Mr. Drees returned to Mexico City, 
to arrange for the publication of the next number of our 
paper, and was unexpectedly detained by the sudden and 
fatal illness of one of our most intimate friends. 

By this time the doctors had decided that Mr. Luders 
must now try a warmer climate, so it was arranged for 
him to go to Orizava, Mr. Drees accompanying him as 
far as Apizaco. 

Three months ])revious to this, Dr. Fuentes, a Cuban 
ex-priest, arrived, bringing very good recommendations 
from New York as well as from Havana. He was about 
forty years of age, highly educated, with literary tastes 
and training, very dignified and with pleasant manners 
and attractive personality. He proved to be a valuable 
acquisition to the mission. 



CHAPTER IX 

Mexico City, January 2, 1882. 

Dear Father and Mother: 

The New Year is come and I must send at least a line, 
to give you and all the dear ones at home my best wishes. 
Last year brought us a great many toils and some very 
severe trials, but we have been led 'safely through them 
all, and our interests and those of the friends we love 
so well are still in the care of our covenant-keeping God. 
We are disposed to trust him for all that is before us 
for this new year. 

We were both in Puebla till December 27, when we 
returned to Mexico City. We spent a very quiet Christ- 
mas with our old charge, and had a Christmas tree for 
the children of the orphanage. Rev. Mr. Hamilton, the 
agent of the American Bible Society, was with us. I 
persuaded him to go to Puebla with me to rest and re- 
cuperate a little. He was very much worn down by watch- 
ing night and day by the bedside of our mutual friend, Mr. 
A., who died December 21. 

Our sympathies have been very much drawn out toward 
his wife and daughters, who are left alone in a strange 
land. He carried on a very active and successful busi- 
ness, but has been cut off so suddenly that I fear it will 
be difficult to settle up his afifairs so as to leave his 
familj^ with adequate means of support. He was one of 
our very best friends and we feel his loss very keenly. 

Our mission has received two accessions during the 

163 



164 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

last week, b}' the birth of a son to Brother and Sister 
Kemble, and a daughter to Brother and Sister Siberts. 

Saturday night, Brother Craver and family arrived here 
on their return from their visit home. They are staying 
with us, but start to-morrow morning for Guanajuato. 
They are all quite well, much improved by their vacation, 
and glad to be back again. Wednesday night I shall set 
out for Vera Cruz to meet Bishop Andrews, who should 
arrive there on the eighth or ninth. He will visit Orizava 
and Puebla on his way up, and reach here about the four- 
teenth. Two days later, we hope to start for Queretaro 
and Guanajuato, and return in time to hold the Annual 
Meeting on the twenty-sixth, so you see I shall be on the 
move all this month. * Our appropriation is so limited that 
I fear we shall have great difficulty in providing for our 
work. I sometimes feel greatly discouraged. 

We had a AVatch Night Meeting here Saturday night, 
which was very largely attended ; also a union meeting 
yesterday afternoon. 

We think of you all constantly, and pray for you and 
long to see you. . . . 

During the first week of the new year, 1882, Mr. Drees 
found it necessary to go to Tulanciugo to attend to some 
urgent property matters, and met with several unexpected 
complications. 

(On the Train) 

RixcoNADA, January G. 
I arrived safely at Tulancingo Thursday afternoon at 
four o'clock, and lost no time in going to the registry of 
deeds, but found that the registration could not be made 
till the tax on the transfers had been paid. I hastened to 
the Custom House and arranged that matter; but the 
officials were very slow, and I did not get away from 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 165 

tliere till after dark. My money was all gone by this 
time, and the bills not all paid, 

I went to a business house to negotiate a draft, but 
could not do so without some one to identify me. I did 
not know where to look for Valderrama, who had recently 
moved, and all the other people I knew happened to be 
out of town, I went and got supper and wandered about 
a while, wondering what I should do. Finally it occurred 
to me to go to the post office and inquire for Valderrama 
and there I found his address, and was soon at his house 
and greatly comforted in spirit. 

After a little conversation we went out and took the 
deeds to the Registrar, begging him to attend to the 
matter as early as possible Friday morning, which he 
promised to do. It was now impossible for me to take the 
diligence the next morning, as I had planned to do, and 
there was no other until the following Monday, so there 
was nothing to do but try and get away on horseback, 
Valderrama agreed to try and get horses and a guide to 
go with me. I went to bed very tired and with a severe 
headache. 

I felt better by morning, and as soon as breakfast was 
over went out and succeeded in negotiating a draft for 
|50 ; went to the Custom House and paid the balance due, 
and at ten o'clock got my last documents, leaving every- 
thing settled and secure. Meanwhile Valderrama had 
engaged one horse, but the other could not be had till two 
o'clock in the afternoon. Then both animals had to be 
fed before we could start, so that it was nearly three be- 
fore we finally got off. 

The lowest estimate of the distance from here to Apam, 
where I was to take the train, was twelve leagues; some 
insist that it is fourteen. In any case we were just five 
hours on the way. The road was delightful until dark- 
ness overtook us. We crossed two mountain ranges, one 



166 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

of which wiis veiy high and covered with pine trees. Be- 
tween the two ranges is a high level plain six or eight 
miles wi<k', with a large fresh water lake in the midst of 
it. The sun went down just as we finished crossing this 
plain. 

It was a beautiful sight, and the ride was veiy exhila- 
rating. I had a good horse, large, strong, and williug, 
so I did not let the grass grow under his hoofs. I was 
very tired when we reached Apam and did not long delay 
in getting supper and going to bed. My room was not 
pleasant, but I managed to sleep and woke this morning 
very much refreshed, and none the worse for my journey. 

As I have no time to lose before Annual Meeting, it is 
necessary for me to go straight to Orizava to-day, and 
thence to Vera Cruz, where the Bishop is due Sunday or 
Monday. . . . 

Bishop and Mrs. Andrews, and the Misses Scott of 
Philadelphia, daughters of Mr. Charles Scott, a promi- 
nent member of the Arch Street Church, and of the Board 
of Foreign Missions, arrived the following week and spent 
more than a mouth in Mexico. It would be dillitiilt to 
overestimate the importance and value of this Episcopal 
visit to the interests of the mission. 

Bishop Andrews, with his clear judgment and wide 
knowledge of life, his kindly spirit, and sympathetic in- 
terest in the individual members of the Mission, his wise 
and fatherly advice, and his g(^ni;il and alVcctionate bear- 
ing, attracted every one, and nuide his visit a blessing 
indeed. lie took time to go into all necessary details, 
and visited unhurriiHlly all the ])rin(ipal points of the 
Mission, as well as some of the less important ones. 

What the friendshij) formed during this month with 
all the mendx'rs of this ]»ai-ty has meant to us ]»crsonally, 
through all the years liiat have passed since then, cannot 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 167 

be recorded here. Suffice it is to say that it lias been 
a constant source of happiness and inspiration. 

On the second day of the Annual Meeting, Dr. T. B. 
Wood, superintendent of our mission in South America, 
arrived. He had been in that country twelve years, knew 
Spanish well, and entered at once into the proceedings 
of the Conference with the greatest interest and enthu- 
siasm. He remained in Mexico nearly three months and 
during that time accompanied Mr. Drees on his round of 
quarterly visits to all parts of the Mission, preaching 
with great acceptability and making friends wherever 
he went. 

A few days before the opening of the Annual Meeting, 
Mr. Luders, finding he did not improve in Orizava, and 
losing all hope of recovery, returned to Puebla. The 
boys of the orphanage and the members of the congrega- 
tion gave him a warm welcome, and it seemed to be a 
comfort to him to be with them again. Everything pos- 
sible was done for him, but he was past all help, and 
three days after his return the end came. He was a most 
useful and versatile man, and his loss seemed irreparable. 

SiLAo, April 4, 1882. 

Dr. Wood and I left Mexico City at the usual time, but 
about ten o'clock came to the place of the wreck of the 
train of the previous night, and were detained there till 
half past two, not reaching Queretaro till six o'clock. 

Brother Greenman met us at the station, and we went 
at once to see about getting permission to go on to Celaya, 
the next day, on the construction train. This was granted, 
but with the understanding that we must be on hand 
in case it might be ready to start at daylight. We went 
to the station early the next morning, but it was four 
hours before the car was ready to start. 

We got into a box car on top of a lot of railroad ties, 



168 TUIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Mrs. Greeuuian, Mrs. Lutz, Mrs. Surplice aud daughter, 
Dr. Wood, Brother Greenman, two or three other gentle- 
men, and myself. Mrs. G. had provided a good lunch, 
which was higlily appreciated by all the party. 

We reached Celaya about half past one, and were tohl 
that the train would start for Irajiuato at three; so as 
soon as we had lunch we liurricHl across town to the 
old station a little before time, but had to wait two hours 
and did not arrive at Irapuato till dark. As soon as we 
got in, I had to hurry to the the diligence office to engage 
our seats for the next day, and by the time we had supper 
every one was glad to get to bed. I did not sleep well, and 
was uj) and dressed before five. We started on to Guana- 
juato at six, were delayed by a broken king bolt, but 
finally reached there a little after noon. 

On Sunday Dr. Wood preached twice; I assisting at 
the Sunday school and presiding over the love feast in 
the afternoon. Monday morning we were up at five 
o'clock and started at six for Leon, arriving about noon. 
The afternoon was taken up by business matters, and 
Dr. Wood and I worked over our documents until after 
midnight. 

(Note. — The documents here referred to related to the 
proposal for the revision or new translation of the 
Spanish Bible.) 

I was so afraid we might oversleep that I was up 
several times in the night, and finally got dressed before 
five and we started back to Silao at six. We held a service 
there, about a dozen adults being present, then went to 
Guanajiiato, where we had special meetings Wednesday 
and Thursday, with large congregations. . . . 

QuERETARO. April 9. 
We left (Juanajuato Friday morning, hoping to get a 
train in Irapuato, but found there were none running and 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 169 

the whole matter was so uncertain that we had to take 
the regular stage yesterday morning, and come clear 
through in that vehicle. We reached here at ten o'clock 
last night. Fifteen hours' staging were enough to remind 
me of old times, and produce a very considerable degree 
of weariness. 

From here we go to San Juan del Rio, where we shall 
hold a service in the evening and take the train at 10 p. m.^ 
with the hope of reaching home the next day before 
noon. . . . 

Mexico City, April 25, 1882. 
My dear Mother: 

I have been reminded all day of the double anniversary 
which has once more come around to us; your birthday, 
and the day on which I sailed from New York when I 
first came to Mexico. It hardly seems possible that eight 
years have passed since I set my face toward this part 
of the world ! As I look back over all this time, it seems 
full of strange vicissitudes such as I could hardly have 
imagined before. I feel that God has been very good to 
me and to us all, and that we have great reason to praise 
him. 

Since my return from the interior, I have been very 
busy in consultation with Dr. Wood, preparing material 
for our May Advocate, and numerous other things. 

Since I wrote last, I have received a letter from the 
Mission Rooms in New York stating that I have been 
appointed Treasurer of the Mission. This will bring me 
a good deal of additional work. I am resolved to make 
every possible eifort to keep the finances of the Mission 
in such a manner as will prove satisfactory to the 
authorities of the Society. 

Ada's brother has just arrived, having come to take a 
position in one of the railroad oflSces of this city. There 



170 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

is just now a great deal of activity in business circles, and 
there are many openings. . . . 

Orizava, June 13. 

We arrived here on time after a very pleasant journey, 
and found Brother and Sister Umpleby awaiting us at 
the station. We had a very good Sunday, celebrating for 
the first time Children's Day. Miss Swaney made a 
brief address which was greatly appreciated, and I also 
spoke. The collection for the S. S. Fund reached |3. I 
preached at night. 

The next day went with Brother U. to see the agent 
who has been looking for a house for us, then to see several 
other people, but did not find much encouragement. In 
the evening held Quarterly Conference and afterward 
went to see another agent whom we engaged to help in 
the search for property. To-morrow we are to have a 
special service in the chapel. . . . 

June 18. 

We started for Huatusco Thursday morning at four 
o'clock and reached our destination about 2 p. m. The 
road is the most picturesque and the roughest I have 
seen in Mexico. We did what we could in the way of 
prospecting for the opening of work here, and started on 
our return Friday afternoon at two o'clock, reaching San 
Juan Coscomatepec four hours later. Spent the worst 
of nights in a room next to one in which gambling, drink- 
ing, and fighting were going on the whole niglit and till 
long after daylight. We left there at six o'clock and 
reached here soon after noon, quite tired and very much 
overheated. 

We shall have the usual services to-morrow. I shall 
preach twice and administer the Sacrament. I hope to 
reach home Mondav night. . . . 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 171 

Pachuca, June 28. 

I reached here at noou after as pleasant a journey as 
possible under the circumstances, having felt quite sick 
all the way. As a consequence I am quite tired and used 
up to-night. On my arrival I found the Mission House 
locked up, aud Brother Barker and family all away. 
Misses Hastings and Elliott received me very kindly and 
gave me a little dinner, and I also- took tea with them. 
Spent most of the afternoon with Fred Bawden and Dr. 
Estabrook. 

Brother Barker came home about five o'clock and in 
the evening we had service and I preached. We start lo 
Tezontepec early to-morrow morning and will return here 
Friday. I shall probably be obliged to remain over Sun- 
day, but hope to get home Monday evening. . . . 

Leon, July 19. 

Gamboa, his friend, and myself had a pleasant ride to 
Salamanca. We met Aguilar of the Church South on the 
train, on his way to Guadalajara, and had considerable 
conversation with him. We reached Irapuato at seven 
o'clock and met at the station the conductor of the 
freight train to Silao, who agreed to take me with him 
that far. 

I stayed at the hotel de Guerrero, and had a miserable 
room and as bad food, but got through the night all right. 
The next morning went to the railway station at eight 
o'clock and had to wait till eleven before the train was 
ready to start. I rode on the front of the engine, and we 
came very near running into some cattle. I climbed up 
and back alongside the boiler in a hurry, but the danger 
was averted fortunately. 

We arrived at Silao about noon and I was invited to 
dinner at the Skiltons', and had a very pleasant visit of 
nearly three hours with them. Then a messenger came 



172 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

to say that the Leon train was in and wonld leave in 
half an hour. General Shaler invited me to drive to the 
station with him. 

After all, the train was delayed till live o'clock, but 
we finally reached Leon about half past six. . . . 

Pachuca, Aug^ust 23, 1882. 

I reached here safely at nine o'clock Saturday night, 
preached three times Sunday, and had a good day in 
spite of feeling half sick with a headache. Yesterday, 
we started for El Chico about seven o'clock in the morn- 
ing and before we had gone a league. Brother Barker's 
horse had a bad fall on the stones and came near break- 
ing the brother's leg. After that we had to go very slowly, 
so did not reach our destination till eleven o'clock. 

We had a pleasant visit of several hours and started 
back at five, but it rained most of the way and we had 
to ride so slowly that it was eight o'clock before we 
reached Pachuca. I was very tired and went to bed as 
soon as supper was over. 

We are going out to Santa Gertrudis (his morning in 
the phaeton, and this afternoon to Huasca on horseback, 
seven leagues, half way to Tulancingo, where we ought to 
arrive by nine or ten o'clock to-morrow. Hope to be 
home on Monday or Tuesday. . . . 

Ai'izACo, September 2. 
I arrived here this morning at ten o'clock and found 
Brother Mesa waiting for me at the station. We went 
to the hotel and secured a room and then arranged about 
getting together the things belonging to the church. Got 
the cha]»el opened to air and dry it, and hire<l a woman to 
sweep and dust it proi)erly, and now must sally forth to 
finish prejjarations for church services to-morrow and 
the opening of school on Moudiiy. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 173 

This Apizaco is a fearfully unattractive place, but 
there is great need of Mission work here, and I hope and 
pray that we may be able by God's blessing to establish 
a strong congregation here. I have been greatly com- 
forted ever since last Saturday, by 2 Corinthians 2. 14, 
which I venture to believe will be fulfilled in some meas- 
ure in my ministry. . . . 

(From one of my letters home) 

QuERETARO, Octobcr 2, 1882. 

I came up here three weeks ago, by myself. There was 
at least one incident to relieve the monotony of the jour- 
ney. Shortly before we reached San Juan del Rio, we 
ran over a large stone or some other obstruction which 
gave us a great jolt as we went over it. They did not stop, 
however, to see what it was or whether any damage had 
been done, and we reached San Juan all right. Here all 
the passengers except three or four Mexicans and myself 
got out for dinner. I had just spread out my lunch when 
the train began moving, and almost at the same moment 
the people, including the conductor and brakeman who 
were on the station platform, began shouting, "No, no," 
and making violent gestures ; then some one began pulling 
the bell rope, and for a moment or two there was great 
excitement. I supiiosed another train was about to run 
into us, so gathered up my belongings and was out in less 
time than it takes to tell it. 

They soon discovered the cause of the trouble. When 
we ran over that stone it broke one of the wheels of the 
first class car and it had come the rest of the way just 
sliding along the rails. When we stopped at San Juan 
and they attempted to back the train, it would not move 
and the cars came very nearly piling up there in a heap. 

The car with the broken wheel could be taken no 



174 THirtTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

flirt lier, so the passengers were transferred to a forward 
car. 

A Mexican gentleman w lio sat near inc came and asked 
me if I would not go with liim ami his sister to dinner. 
When I declined, haviii},' my lunch with mo, ho asko<l if he 
might leave his money in my care. (He had one of those 
large bags of silver dollars.) I consented, and he brought 
it over and loft it with mo till wo reached Qnorotaro. 

Mr. Greennian was waiting for mo at the station. I 
found them all well and Emily more beguiling than ever. 
Ten days latoi" her little brother an-ivod. 

The following week ('. telegraphed mo that ho was called 
to Guanajuato, and would like me to join him and go on 
there for a brief visit. 

We went as far as Silao the first afternoon, arriving 
there about half past six. Just after we left Queretaro, 
some Americans who were in the same car with us, told 
us that near Celaya, a place that has a very bad reputa- 
tion, the freight train we had passed at the last station 
had been fired njjon by a band of i-ol>bors, and it was 
feared they would attack our train too. 

C. as usual, did not believe there was any danger, 
though he did tell me that in case thoy began firing I must 
drop down between the scats inimediatoly, and stay there. 
The other American woman and myself felt rather nerv- 
ous about it, and for an hour or more sat looking out, 
expecting every minute to hoar or see or feel tho bullets 
crashing through. 

At Silao wo wore tnjd that it was not tho freight train 
that had been tired uikui, but a hand car full of workmen. 
They came upon the robbers unexpectedly, suq>rising them 
in the act of ])utting (»bstiMictions on tho track, probably 
preparing foi- tho jtassongor train. Tho workmen wore 
well armed, however, and ilio robbers had to retreat. 

Here wo met a young American, about nineteen, en- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 175 

gineer on the road from Silao to Guanajuato. The day 
before as he was backing the train, the engine ran over 
and killed a man who was walking on the track. The boy, 
however, did not know it and went on to Silao and came 
back, only to find officers and a guard waiting for him, 
with an order for his arrest. They tied his hands behind 
him, put him on a horse and carried him off to prison be- 
tween two mounted guards with drawn swords. One 
would have thought they had a fierce and dangerous des- 
perado to deal with instead of a slender boyish fellow 
such as he was. 

Arriving at the prison, they announced that he was 
guilty of murder, and had him consigned to a dungeon. 
He was allowed, however, to telegraph his father, who 
lives in Silao, and who is also an engineer. He took a 
special engine and went to the boy at once, heard his story 
and then called upon the Governor, stating the case. The 
Governor gave him an order for the immediate release of 
the boy and he took him home with him, so he was in 
prison only a few hours. 

At Silao we went to the hotel and had supper, and 
afterward called on Mr. and Mrs. Skilton. They insisted 
on our staying all night with them and sent to the hotel 
for our baggage. We spent a most pleasant evening. 
They are delightful people and among the most hospitable 
Americans we have met in Mexico. 

Early the next morning we left Silao by diligence for 
Guanajuato, arriving there about noon. We stayed at the 
Mission house, though Mr. and Mrs. Graver were not at 
home. In the afternoon we took a long walk through the 
city. It is a very queer place. I do not believe there 
could be more crooked, irregular streets, and the houses 
are built on the sides of the hills and so close together 
that from a distance they look as though they were built 
on top of each other. Indeed, some of the upper rows of 



176 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

houses project over the back rooms of the houses below. 
The street.s are very uarrow, too, besides being so crooked. 

Saturday evening they were crowded with niiner.s and 
a motley lot of other people, the dirtiest and most 
wretched looking I have yet seen. 

On Sunday there was Sunday school at nine o'clock, 
preaching an hour later, and love feast in the afternoon, 
also preaching and the Lord's Supper at night. There was 
quite a large attendance at every service. The congrega- 
tion in Guanajuato is the largest in the Mission. 

Mr. Loza, the Mexican preacher in charge of the work 
here during Mr. Graver's absence, was very anxious for 
me to say a few words to the congregation at the close 
of the service, but as I did not feel equal to that, he an- 
nounced my "])resence among them,'' made some very ap- 
preciative remarks, and asked them to come forward and 
greet ''the young wife of our beloved superintendent," and 
assure her of their atTection and sympathy, which they 
did most heartily. 

AVe left Guanajuato early Monday afternoon, reached 
Silao at six o'clock, and there took the train for Leon, 
arriving about dark. Mr. and Mrs. Kemble were at the 
station to meet us and we spent three pleasant days with 
them. One afternoon Mr. K. got a carriage and took us 
for a long drive in the country. Some parts of it looked 
much like our own country. 

At a special service the second night of our stay, C. 
preached to a congregation of twenty-seven, besides the 
members of the Mission, which seemed very encouraging, 
considering the short time since they began work here. 
Larger congregations are sure to follow. 

C.'s district now extends from Leon on the north to 
Cordoba on the south, besides Tachuca and Puebla, which 
are on branch roads. 1 have been now to every place in 
the Mission except three or four snuill Indian towns. Mr. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 177 

K. says he thinks an allowance ought to be made for my 
traveling expenses too, so that I could go with C. always 
to cheer up the sisters as C, does the brethren. 

Thursday we were up at four o'clock and started at 
five for Salamanca, where we arrived about nine, and 
spent the rest of the day and night there. At the evening 
service C. preached and administered the Lord's Supper, 
more than fifty being present. 

Gamboa, the preacher in charge of this work, is one 
of those who studied with C. in Puebla. He has a very 
nice wife, and they are both much beloved. She plays 
the flute quite well, and at the service that night, I played 
the organ and she accompanied with the flute, and it was 
considered a great success. 

Friday morning we came on here, where I am to remain 
a few days longer. C. went on to Mexico City and has 
written me of his safe arrival. He says Mr. Johnston was 
on the train, and took him forward to ride on the engine 
with him from Popotla to Mexico City. He enjoyed the 
experience, though they did knock a donkey off into the 
ditch and left him, as he says, "a fit object for the chari- 
table attentions of the S. P. C. A." At another place they 
came upon a large stick of wood that had been placed 
upon the rails, evidently with evil intent, but the loco- 
motive pushed it to one side instead of trying to run 
over it. 

C. sent me a copy of the Mexican Financier, a very live 
paper edited by a bright young American Jew, which has 
an interesting article in this week's issue, on the arrest 
and imprisonment of two Americans, accused of speaking 
evil of the President, of whom nothing too bad could 
be said. 

If the Mexican government were not afraid, they would 
send the editor of this paper out of the country as they 
did a French editor a few weeks ago, as a "pernicious 



178 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

foreigner," but this man represents too large American 

interests to be dealt with in that way. . . . 

(From my letter of November 7) 

We are jnst home from a visit to Pachiica, where we 
went to attend a dedication service at Real del Monte, a 
place several miles further on. Real del Monte is over 
8,000 feet above sea level, the highest point in the world 
where a I'rotestant church lias been built, so they say. 
Mr. Barlver and C. went on horseback from Pachuca, I in 
a diligence with a party of Cornish people, who were spe- 
cially interested in the new church. 

It was nearly one o'clock when we reached our destina- 
tion and was a long, hot, tiresome drive. The exercises 
began with a tea meeting, a great institution among P]ng- 
lish people and very popular. They had arranged such a 
long program that it was nearly dark when they finished. 

The formal dedication services were held the next day, 
and as the church is for both the English and Spanish 
congregations, dedicatory sermons were preached in both 
languages. Dr. Fuentes speaking in Spanish and C. in 
English. It was reported that there was to be an attempt 
to blow up the place that day, and that a train of powder 
or dynamite had been laid, ready to set ott' at the proper 
moment, but if there was such a plan, something inter- 
fered with it, for everything passed off very quietly. 

Sunday there was class meeting at 8 o'clock in the morn- 
ing, Spanish preaching at 11, English at 3 o'clock, Quar- 
terly Conference in English immediately afterward, 
Spanish services and a bai)tisin. at night, and after that, 
Quarterly Conference in Spanish ! C. attended and took 
I)art in all of them. 

The next morning there were business matters to attend 
to, which took up all the time till noon, and at one o'clock 
we started home. There is a line of horse cars for some 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 179 

distance, aud then a diligence line of about an hour, be- 
fore reaching the railroad. We had an unusually disagree- 
able journey. The people in the diligence were extremely 
dirty and some of them smoked so constantly that we 
were almost suffocated. One big fellow who was evidently 
much the worse for pulque, made himself particularly 
obnoxious. Then we had to wait in a cold windy place 
more than an hour, and when the train finally came, it was 
very much crowded and the cars had been kept closed 
until the smoke and foul odors had made the atmosphere 
almost intolerable. To add to all this, some third class 
passengers brought a large skin of pulque into the car, 
and the skin got broken or came untied, and flooded the 
car with that sticky liquid. We had to put our baggage 
on the seat and sit on top of it. We finally reached home, 
however, only half an hour behind time and but tem- 
porarily the worse for our disagreeable experience. 

Orizava, November 12, 1882. 

I arrived here safely j^esterday evening. The day was 
very pleasant, and the views of the mountains, coming 
down, charming. Brother Umpleby met me at the sta- 
tion. He aud his wife are both looking very badly, and 
seem to be unable to recover from the shock of their baby's 
death. It is exceedingly depressing here. 

This morning I met Hilarion Bonilla and his brother 
on the street, and they came to Sunday school and church 
to-day. I had a good deal of talk with them, and Hilarion 
stayed a while with Lopez after I came awaj'. Lopez was 
called out a moment, and on going back found Hilarion 
crying. When asked what was the matter, he confessed 
that he felt very badly for having left the Puebla school 
as he did, said he knew he had treated us all badly and 
felt very sorry and would like to go back. 

It has given me great pleasure to hear this. The boy 



180 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

is much grown, was quite well dressed, and looks as 
though he had no bad habits. I feel as though the seed 
sown in his mind and heart has not been and will not be 
fruitless. 

We have had a very good Sunday; there was a large 
attendance at the services to-night, and things in genei-al 
are more encouraging here than I have seen them for some 
time. To-morrow I shall have to be stirring about lively, 
looking after that property question. I hope and pray 
that we may succeed in securing something suitable. . . . 

During this year, 1882, Mr. Drees traveled in the su- 
perintendency of the Mission nearly 8,000 miles. On the 
last day of December, he rode twelve miles on horseback, 
preached four times, baptized two children, held a Quar- 
terly Conference and a Watch Night service. 



CHAPTER X 

(To his father and mother) 

Mexico City, January 30, 1883. 

It is a good while since I have written home, but you 
know that I am a very busy man these days, especially 
in the opening of a new year's work, and holding our 
Annual Meeting. In the absence of a bishop, I was asked 
to preside this year, and we had a very pleasant and har- 
monious session. 

Our work generally is in an encouraging condition, and 
we have reason to anticipate a prosperous year. There 
are a good many probabilities that Ada and I will have 
a six months' vacation, so as to make a visit home this 
year. I have, however, several important matters to 
arrange which I feel I must see concluded before I leave. 
One is the purchase of property in Orizava, another, 
negotiations for a change of property in Puebla, and a 
third the repairs on our new property in Queretaro. I am 
doing all I can to push these things along so as to con- 
clude them by the first of May. If I succeed in this and 
no other obstacle should arise, and if our Board of 
Managers will give us leave of absence, we shall be at 
home soon after the first of June. 

The mere anticipation of this is giving us great pleasure 
already. It seems almost too good to be realizable! 

I am making arrangements to take with us the young 
boy, Galdino Gutierrez, of whom we wrote some time ago. 
I hope to have him enter the Ohio Wesleyan University 
next September. I have secured nearly enough money to 
pay his way to the States, and will trust in God for means 

181 



182 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

for his support at Delaware, hoping for some aid from 
the Board of Education and friends. I am also counting 
a little on the cooperation of the young people's society 
in Xeuia. Can you not lay the case before them, and 
enlist their interest to the extent of saving their funds 
for this purpose? 

Galdino is a good Christian boy and will, I have no 
doubt, make the best use of his opportunities. The chief 
reason why I am anxious to have him go to Delaware is 
that he may be fitted to do thorough, advanced educa- 
tional work in our Mission here, in future years. He 
seems well adapted for this, and I have great hopes of 
him. 

I hope to be able to do some good, and to get a great 
deal of good, while we are at home. Pray that the way 
may be opened up for us to go, and that we may be greatly 
blessed in so doing. . . . 

PuEBLA, February 14, 1883. 

Arrived here in good condition Saturday morning. 
Brother Siberts met me at the station and brought me to 
their house. Found them all well and had a warm wel- 
come from Paul and Bessie. They are very nice children 
and improving all the time. After dinner I went with Mr. 
Thomas and his party to Cholula, returning about seven 
o'clock. It was cool and pleasant, and the evening land- 
scape and sunset were beautiful. All the members of the 
party were delighted with the expedition. 

Sunday 1 preached moi-ning and evening, and spent 
part of the afternoon with the IMiiladelphia party. They 
attended church in the morning and gave eight dollars to 
the collection. Yesterday. Monday, was a very busy day. 
We were taking action with reference to the purchase of a 
lot which we hope the Missionary Society will take. 
Meauwliilc, Brother Siberts and I assume the responsi- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 183 

bility. The matter is not quite finished and I may be de- 
tained here longer than I had expected to be. This sense 
of responsibility is sometimes very wearing. Pray that 
we may be guided aright. 

Last night we had the largest congregation I have seen 
here for a long time, larger even than on Sunday night. 
I feel greatly cheered and encouraged. . . . 

Orizava^ February 19. 

My journey from Puebla was uneventful, but I found, 
on arriving here, a "Norther," with its attendant chill 
and damp, and it is colder than I have ever felt it in 
Orizava. Last night we had a good meeting, about seventy 
being present. I preached and had some liberty, as the 
old preachers used to say. 

This morning went out to make inquiries about the 
house that is offered to us ; found that the party in charge 
of it knows me and what I want it for, but is entirely 
willing to sell it to us. I secured the refusal of it till the 
27th of this month. By that time we shall know certainly 
whether there is any other opening. If not, we shall take 
this property and proceed at once to put it in order for 
occupancy. 

I earnestly hope that three or four weeks more will see 
the Orizava and Puebla properties secured, and repairs 
planned and underway in those places and in Queretaro. 
I feel greatly encouraged by the prospect of getting these 
wearing anxieties off my mind. . . . 

In March, Mr. Drees again visited Queretaro, Guana- 
juato, and Leon, preaching and holding the usual quar- 
terly services in those places, and endeavoring to leave 
everything in order for a longer interval than usual, in 
case we were granted a vacation. 

In April he made similar visits to Pachuca, Puebla, and 



184 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Orizava, succeeding at last in settling up the long delayed 
property matters, and getting possession of the premises. 

(From my letter home, dated April 20 ) 
We have with us now, Galdino, of whom C. has written 
you, who has a small room to himself; and in the three 
unlurui.shed rooms on the roof we have quartered a man 
out of workj with his wife and four little children, Juana, 
our cook, and her son, a boy of sixteen, Matilde, an old 
woman without any one to take care of her, and one of 
the younger boys from the orphanage, who lately lost his 
place and is waiting for something else to offer. To the 
credit of all concerned, they get along together most 
amicably. . . . 

Mexico City^ May 9. 
My dear Father axd Mother : 

It is just nine years to-day since I reached Mexico City, 
and this morning I received letters announcing that our 
leave of absence is granted. The Board of Managers of 
the Missionary Society also took very generous action 
with reference to some other matters I had pending be- 
fore them, so this has been a very liapi)y day for us. 

We are preparing to sail from Vera Cruz by the City 
of Puebla for New York, by way of Havana, on the 17th, 
one week from to-morrow. We should reach New York on 
the 30th. I shall be delayed there two or three days, to 
consult with Secretary Reid about some matters, and then 
we shall hasten to Xenia by the quickest route. We are 
full of thankfulness at this near prospect of seeing you 
all. We pray that you and we may be graciously pre- 
served dui-ini:: ilic days that iimst intervene. . . . 

We sailed Irom ^^'ra ('ni7. as we had planned, taking 
with us the Mexican boy. (Jaldino, a young English girl 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 185 

of seventeen, and a French boy of twelve who were sent 
by their parents in our care to enter a school near New 
York. 

We arrived May 30, Decoration Day, and the day of the 
formal opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. Early in June 
we went on to our homes in Ohio, and all our delightful 
anticipations of a happy reunion with our family and 
friends were more than realized. 

To understand what these few months were to us after 
an absence of more than five years and a half in a foreign 
laud, and under the circumstances portrayed in these 
pages, one would need to have a similar experience. 

As is usual with missionaries on vacation, these months 
were not spent in idleness. There was a great deal of 
traveling to do in the interests of the Mission, which Mr. 
Drees gladly undertook, besides preaching, lecturing, and 
speaking on Mexico, in various places. 

The days of rest and relaxation spent in company with 
his family and friends, and their enthusiastic interest in 
his work, proved a great inspiration to him and sent him 
back to his difficult field of labor with renewed faith and 
courage. 

On our return to Mexico we sailed from New York, 
December 13, 1883, by the City of Alexandria, my young- 
est sister going with us to spend a few months there. The 
onl}' record of the voyage are letters of mine to my family, 
the first written from Havana, December 18: We are 
now in Havana, or rather lying at anchor out in the bay, 
about half a mile from shore. AVe had very pleasant 
weather for about thirty-six hours after leaving New 
York, and then off Cape Hatteras our troubles began. 

The sea became so rough that every thing not securely 
fastened was being hurled about, the ship was rolling and 
pitching, the wind howling and every thing most disagree- 



186 THIKTKEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

able. To add to all this discomfort, every one, even the 
stewardess, was sea sick. As for ourselves we recovered 
as soon as the wind lulled, and enjoyed the rest of the 
voyage very much. 

There are a few very agreeable people among the pas- 
sengers with whom we have become acquainted, one, a 
delightful man who was with Sherman on his march to 
the sea. There are several Cubans who speak English, and 
one Cuban lady who informed us that she has had two 
husbands, eighteen children, and twenty grandchildren. 
She talks every waking moment, and sings and dances 
and is the life of the company. 

We reached here early this morning and when we woke 
found we were almost in front of Moro Castle. We could 
see the light in the tower quite distinctly, but the castle 
itself looked like a huge pile of stone in the dim early 
light. We dressed and hurried up on deck just as we 
came to anchor inside the bay. Had coffee and were soon 
ready to go ashore. Boats of all sizes and descriptions 
were swarming about the steamer. We selected one and 
after only a few minutes' row reached the docks. 

We walked up past the site of the first church built on 
this continent, marked now by a monument with a stone 
tablet, giving some history' of it; then up tlirough a pretty 
little open square, and from there through block after 
block of shoj)s and stores whose fronts are open to the 
streets, displaying at a glance all their contents. They 
looked very cool and inviting, nujst of them having marble 
floors, and their goods were very tastefully arranged. We 
came at last to the principal street in the city and sat 
down in a shady jdace in a i)ark, while C. went to buy us 
some oranges and bananas. Lou and I were both feeling 
very dizzy after our five days at sea, but this fruit quite 
restored us. 

We then took a small carriage, a peculiar one-seated 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 187 

vehicle with an elevated seat in front for the driver, and 
drove first to the Cathedral, where we heard the end of 
a mass, then to a very pretty church called La Merced, 
and from there to the Captain General's gardens, a pretty 
but neglected place some distance from the center of the 
city. After that we visited the aristocratic part of town 
where there are the loveliest and most picturesque houses 
imaginable, of every color and hue, pale blue, pale pink, 
and pale yellow, as well as many indefinable shades. We 
thought we would like to transplant some of them to our 
Northern clime. 

At noon we came back to a hotel called the Telegrafo, 
where we had a delicious dinner. The whole place was 
most attractive, all the rooms having marble floors, the 
bedrooms furnished with brass bedsteads, lace canopies, 
and curtains, all so cool and inviting. After dinner we 
went on a diminutive railroad out to a suburban town 
built all along the bay, and the view in every direction 
was beautiful. We came back to the steamer about three 
o'clock, tired enough after seeing so many strange and 
interesting things in so short a time. 

We are to leave here to-morrow morning for the next 
port, Progreso, 400 miles further on. The weather here is 
perfectly delightful. . . . 

From Progreso there is only a note to say that we 
reached there the morning of December 21, after a very 
pleasant voyage of forty-six hours from Havana. 

Mexico City, December 26, 1883. 
Dear Father and Mother: 

It is the night after Christmas, and we have had our 
first day in our Mexican home after our long, happy 
summer. 

We landed in Vera Cruz at noon of the 24th, and I took 



188 THIKTEEN YEARS IX MEXICO 

the gills to the hotel, and then returned to the dock to 
attend to the baggage. 1 had a long, hard, hot afternoon's 
work, and did not get through till eight o'clock in the 
evening. After supper we walked out to the post office to 
mail our home letters by the steamer which is to sail on 
Christmas day. Then we walked a while in the Plaza, 
watching the throng of strangely dressed people, returnc^l 
to the hotel and retired early. 

The next morning at five o'clock we were up and our 
train started soon after six. We caught a fine view of the 
tranquil sea as we left the town behind us, and in the 
rosy glow of the early morning we sped away toward the 
mountains. We had a very bright day and the scenery 
was unusually fine. 

I saw Brother Loza, our Mexican minister at Orizava, 
and had the first report of the state of affairs, which seems 
generally satisfactory. Ada's brother met us at Otumba, 
and his appearance produced quite a sensation. 

We arrived here at 8 i*. m. Brother Butler met us at 
the station with some other friends. We have had a very 
cordial reception, and are cheered at the prospect we find 
on resuming our work. 

There have been some slight disturbances of the peace 
here, threatening difficulty. The government, however, 
seems to have a strong hand upon the malcontents, and I 
think there will be no revolution. The difficulties are of a 
political nature and have led to no demonstration against 
lis as Protestants. 

It is quite generally understood that General Diaz will 
be next President. There will be more or loss excitement 
and uneasiness until the presidential campaign is over, 
which will not be till after the middle of ISSl. 

f shall be up to my eyes in work now for many days, 
in order to bring up arrearages. We are all well and 
happy. . • . 



CHAPTER XI 

Vera Cruz, January 12, 1884. 

I got started on my journey promptly and had a fairly 
comfortable time, arriving in good season at Orizava. 
While the train stood in the station at Apam, I saw Mr. 
Jackson, the General Manager of this road, who told me 
he had received a letter from Mr. Spinney about the ar- 
rival of Bishop Warren, and that if the bishop should so 
desire, a special car will be attached to the freight train 
leaving Vera Cruz at 1 p. m. on the day of his arrival, and 
take him as far as Orizava the same day. 

Loza met me at the railroad station in Orizava and 
had a room prepared for me in the Mission house. I 
talked over some matters with him and went over the 
property^ which is not as near completion as I had hoped 
to find it. Another thousand dollars will be needed to get 
it into anything like a finished condition. I had supper, 
preached a sermon, administered the communion, and held 
a long Quarterly Conference, getting to bed quite tired. 

I had a pleasant meeting with the brethren in Orizava, 
and found the congregation in good condition and enthu- 
siastic in their devotion to Brother Loza. 

Friday morning had breakfast and went at once to the 
telegraph offices to be sure to get my expected messages 
promptly. This kept me running about till train time, 
when I got a message from Markoe that the steamer was 
behind time and could not get in before Saturday. 

I came on to Vera Cruz in the evening, having spent 
most of the intervening time going over Loza's accounts 
with him and consulting about various matters. When I 

189 



190 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

left Orizava at 4 r. m. the weather was beginning to look 
threatening, and as we approached Vera Cruz it became 
evident that a Norther was qu in force. I never saw or 
felt Vera Cruz on this wise before ! 

It is i)ositiv('ly cold and the wind whistles and howls 
as it would take the roof off the hotel. The waves last 
night were dashing over the mole, and the water often 
rolled far within the massive arches of the gates. One 
ship dragged her anchor and went ashore about half a 
mile down the coast to keep company with the dismantled 
hull of a last year's wreck and the helpless remains of a 
full rigged brig that was swept upon the sands less than 
two weeks ago. 

As a group of men were looking down toward the scene 
of disaster, I heard one of tliem say with evident truth- 
fulness, that that sandy point is becoming a very campo- 
santo, a ship's burial ground. 

The steamer is not even in sight and it is now quite 
probable she will not be in before to-morrow. The bishop 
and party will then doubtless go as far as Orizava, and 
there wait for Monday's train to Mexico City. 

I shall wait here now until I hear something of them. 
May the Lord of earth and sky bring them safely through 
the storm ! It is approaching sunset and though the wind 
is not quite so strong it has not changed direction. The 
waves are not so high, but I hear their commotion as I 
write. 

I have been so driven of late that I am feeling very 
tired. I hope after Annual Meeting to slacken speed a 
little and have a week or two of comparative rest. . . . 

(To his father) 

Mexico City, February 24. 
This is the first opportunity I have had for several 
weeks to sit down ([uiclly and write a home letter. As 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 191 

you know, Bishop Warren and his party arrived on the 
14th of January. From that time till Wednesday of this 
week, my time was incessantly occupied, first with Annual 
Meeting affairs, and then in accompanying the bishop in 
the general visitation of the Mission. 

He visited rapidly all our central Mission stations, in- 
spected the property and addressed our congregations, 
his tour closing when he left Puebla last week. I accom- 
panied him as far as Apizaco, and saw him and his family 
safely started for Vera Cruz. I have received a letter 
from him to-day, written just as the ship weighed anchor 
and got underway. 

When I reached home I found that Brother and Sister 
Craver's little girl, a beautiful child three years of age, 
had died and been buried that day. She had scarlet fever 
and was sick only three days. Our Annual Meeting had 
been adjourned but a week when one of our Mexican min- 
isters died in Queretaro, and I had to hasten thither to 
attend the funeral. The mother of another of our 
preachers is now at the point of death, so you see our year 
is beginning amid sore afflictions. Still we are not dis- 
mayed. 

Mrs. Greenman and her children will soon be with us 
again, and I had news yesterday of the arrival in Vera 
Cruz of Brother L. C. Smith and family, newly appointed 
to this field. 

Brother Butler and wife will leave here in about three 
weeks on their six months' vacation, just granted them 
by the Board. They expect to go overland, as the railroad 
will be about finished by that time. It is now expected 
that through trains will be running by the 15th of March. 
The time to New York will be about six days and six 
hours ; about five days to Cincinnati. The fare from here 
to the frontier will be less than |60. We will have daily 
mails in a few days. 



192 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

The most novel event of the last few weeks was our as- 
cent of Popocatepetl. We chose the time of full moon, so 
as to have light during the early morning climb. I went 
out to Anieca Meca, a town near the base of the mountain, 
on Wednesday afternoon, in order to have horses, guides, 
etc., ready for the next day. Bi.shop Warren, Mr. W. S. 
Iliff, and Brother Barker came out on the Thursday morn- 
ing train and Mrs. Warren and Ada came with them, to 
see us start off on our adventure. 

I had everything ready and after we had eaten a hasty 
dinner, we started off at just one o'clock. We had to take 
with us a box of provisions, and blankets to provide for 
our comfort during our night on the mountain. We were 
gotten up regardless of appearances, dressed in old 
clothes, and with cheap wide straw hats as protection 
against the sun. 

We formed quite a cavalcade as we filed out of town. 
There were the four travelers and the master of horse, 
mounted upon five as sorry looking beasts as you would 
care to sec, the pack mule piled high with our provisions 
and bedding, and the four guides afoot. 

About a league out of town our road began a rapid 
ascent of the far stretching ridges and spurs of the moun- 
tain chain. We crossed deep gulches and mounted lofty 
ridges of sand and scoriae until we reached the limit of 
timber growth, not far from 12,000 feet above the sea 
level. Then a rapid descent for a short distance brought 
us to our halting place at a ranch, called TIaniacas, which 
was nothing but a deserted hut or two, once used by the 
laborers emjdoyed in getting sulphur out of the crater 
of the volcano. We had ridden nearly five hours and made 
a distance of fifteen or eighteen miles. 

From our stopjting place, far off to the east over the 
plains of IMiebla, we could see the lofty summits of Ori- 
zavM and Mount Malinchc. just reddening in the rays of 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 193 

the setting sun. Above us towered the still unsealed snow 
crowned summit of Popocatepetl, from six to seven thou- 
sand feet higher. 

It was quite cold and we soon had a roaring fire in the 
center of one of the shanties. There was no chimney, the 
atmosphere was very much rarefied, and we soon found 
that the smoke was disposed to go any way but upward. 

When our guides came up with the baggage we un- 
packed the provisions and bedding, ate a hasty supper 
and at eight o'clock lay down to rest and sleep, prepara- 
tory to our morning climb. For myself I could not sleep, 
and was up and down all night, now replenishing the fire, 
now looking after the horses, which became somewhat 
restive, now out in the night watching the moon rise be- 
yond the peak of Orizava. 

At half past one I aroused our sleeping party and the 
guides, and we began our preparations for the ascent ; tied 
on our hats, had our legs bandaged with long strips of 
flannel, got on great coats and blankets, and were ready 
to mount. At just three o'clock, we set off in the moon- 
light, single file, with a guide ahead to lead the way. 

We crossed a wooded ridge, went down and up the pre- 
cipitous sides of a deep gulley worn in the mountain side 
by the torrents from the eastern slopes of the volcano, and 
had soon left behind us all traces of vegetation and were 
laboriously climbing vast sloping plains or inclines of 
sand, volcanic ash and scoriae, into which the horses' 
hoofs sank deep at eveiy step. 

The labored breathing and frequent halting of the poor 
animals showed that we were invading the regions of 
upper air and should soon have to leave our horses. After 
two hours' zigzag climbing on horseback, we halted and 
dismounted under the lea of a huge rock which, for the 
moment, protected us from the icy breeze which we were 
to have in our faces the rest of the ascent. Then each 



194 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

man with bis guide faced the steep ascent and began the 
morning's work. It was now five o'clock, and the east 
began to redden with the first streaks of dawn. 

Half an hour's work in the loose sand and volcanic 
debris brought us to the edge of the snow, and looking up 
we could see an apparently' limitless stretch of snow field, 
many hundreds of feet wide, lying at an angle of about 
forty-five degrees and rising into the inky blue of the sky. 
The snow was frozen hard and fortunately did not present 
an even surface, but was broken into ridges and depres- 
sions which afforded easy foot hold. 

On we went, stepping slowly and cautiously in the 
places indicated by the guides, stopping now and again 
with greater and greater frequency as our breath came 
shorter and shorter; at times throwing ourselves down in 
a furrow of the snow and turning our backs to the wind, 
which howled about us and came in gusts as if angry and 
minded to hurl us back down the slope. 

An hour, two hours passed, and we seemed scarcely to 
have made a beginning of the work before us. The red 
horizon grew more and more brilliant until at last the 
sun shot up above the dark line of mist and illuminated 
the vast expanse beneath us. The snowy summit of 
Orizava looked coldly at us across the hundred and fifty 
miles of distance, Malinche frowned upon us in the fore- 
ground and, over to the left as we looked eastward, the 
rugged heights of Ixtaccihuatl seemed near at hand across 
the mountain pass. 

As the day grew brighter, the vast plains of Puebla 
came distinctly into view, covered in i)art with clouds so 
far beneath us that the sun shining upon their upper sur- 
face made them look like vast fields of snow, pierced here 
and there by wooded summits of hills. lOven high emi- 
nences were lost in the common level spread out before us. 

Over to our ri,<j;ht, as we faced the mountain slope, could 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 195 

be distinctly seen without an intervening cloud or patch 
of mist, the placid waters of lakes Chalco and Texcoco, 
and with the glass I carried the City of Mexico could be 
descried. The thermometer marked two degrees Centi- 
grade, or five degrees Fahrenheit below freezing point. 

Bishop Warren and Mr. Iliflf were a little in advance 
and as we looked up into the blue above we could see 
them against the sky, now toiling upward, now resting 
and looking back upon us in our labor. Three hours and 
a half passed and still we were nerving ourselves to pro- 
longed efifort, for we could yet see no end to our Jacob's 
ladder. Our guides encouraged us by saying that another 
hour would bring us to the top. 

We toiled on, when suddenly one of our men shouted 
out as well as he could in the thin air, "Ya llegaron ellos !" 
"They've gotten up !" Looking up we could see nothing of 
our companions till at length their heads appeared above 
the brink, and they saluted us with the cheery shout of 
triumph. 

We hastened on as strength and breath would permit, 
and in a few minutes stood with them upon the edge of 
the crater, looking into its Plutonian depths, beholding 
the beautiful many colored strata of rocks, red and gray 
and white and bluish, which circled the abyss, pointing 
out to each other the hissing, wreathing vapors which 
rushed here and there from the fissures of the sides, de- 
positing yellow sulphur on the rocks and volcanic ash, 
listening intent to the mighty echoes awakened as de- 
tached rocks tumbled from the heights into the mouth of 
hell, and rousing old Pluto's wrath by firing a revolver 
into his palace door. 

The scene was more inspiring than I can tell! One 
moment's gaze repaid a thousand times the night's toil 
and discomfort, and impressed upon our minds a picture 
never to be forgotten. 



196 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

After a lijiht lunch from our basket of provisions and 
a brief rest, dnrinpj which we took in as well as we might, 
the sublime scene spread all about us, we prepared for 
the descent. When the snow is fresh and the surface un 
frozen, the descent is made by each traveler sitting on a 
reed mat behind his guide, who uses his alpenstock as a 
brake, and away they go coasting down the mighty slope 
with the rapidity of thought, getting over in ten minutes 
a distance which it required four or five hours to climb. 

The snow was too hard and the surface too rough for 
us to make this quick descent. So we struck off diago- 
nally across the incline which we had ascended, jumping 
and slipping from one foothold to another on the icy 
slope till we reached a ridge of the southeasterly aspect of 
the mountain where the snow was melted off nearly to 
the summit. This ridge was of loose sand, scoriae, and 
volcanic ash into which we sunk deep at every step. The 
angle of inclination was about the same as the slope we 
had climbed. 

We started down in a succession of long strides or 
jumps, sliding down with the sand at each impulse al- 
most as far again as we could step, yet in no danger of 
losing entire control of our movements. The ease of mo- 
tion, the steepness of the incline, the exhilaration of the 
scene and the growing ease of respiration, led to such a 
rapid acceleration of movement that we were soon going 
at a speed which might rival that of the hero of the seven 
league boots, and in an almost incredibly short space of 
time, we reached the easier slopes of sand which spread 
out at the base of the lofty cone of the volcano. 

Bishop Warren and Mr. Iliff were in advance and had 
gotten out of sighl, while 1 in turn had left Brotlier 
Barker far behind. Shortly after passing near the rocks 
in the lee of which we had dismounted in the morning, I 
came upon Mr. Ilifl" sitting in the sand waiting for succor. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 197 

His feet Lad been slightly frosted in the early morning 
before he was aware of it, and had become so painful that 
he could now walk no further. Bishop Warren had gone 
on without being aware of the pain he was suffering and 
was now out of sight. 

After a moment's delay I hastened on and ran some 
little distance before sitting down to rest, every nerve 
and muscle in my legs quivering with the overstrain of 
the exertion of the morning. I had not been there long 
when I saw our master of horse coming over a ridge in 
the distance and toiling up through the sand to meet us, 
bringing the horses. From the ranch he had seen us when 
we began our descent, and had at once saddled our steeds. 
Bishop Warren had met him, taken his horse and gone on 
to the ranch, 

I hastened to intercept the horses, took my own and 
was about to send on the other two for my remaining 
companions, when looking back I saw Brother Barker 
in the distance, leaning on some rocks for rest. I signaled 
him to come on, and kept his horse while I sent on the 
remaining animal for Mr. Iliff. Brother Barker came 
rushing down the sands, almost turning somersaults in 
his haste. We mounted and hurried on as best we might 
to the ranch. 

Before the noon hour had passed, we were all together 
again in the place of our night's lodging, having made, 
so our guides assured us, an unusually rapid and suc- 
cessful ascent and descent of the monarch of North 
American mountains. It was cold and we stirred up the 
embers of our night's fire and soon had a cheerful blaze. 
In rest, sleep, lunch, and making up our baggage to be 
loaded on the pack mule, we passed two or three hours, 
after which we took horse and set out on our return to 
Ameca Meca. 

We were four hours on the road, and I must confess 



198 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

for myself that they were the longest four hours I ever 
passed in the saddle. When at last we rode into the 
courtyard of Don Silvestre's house and dismounted, I 
found that for a moment my limbs refused to do their 
duty in supporting my body, and I had to shake and rub 
them into sensitiveness and good circulation before I could 
get into the house. 

This soon passed, and supper and a good night's rest 
made Richard himself again. We took train early, and 
at half past ten next morning were at home again with 
laurels of victory upon us. 

This letter, begun Febraary 24, closes this 13th day of 
March. Meanwhile I have been called to Puebla to ad- 
just certain dilliculties which arose there unexpectedl}'. 
Spent last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in Arroyo 
Zarco, where I preached twice and assisted in the opening 
of a school under very favorable auspices. Ada and Lou 
went with me, and we were right hospitably entertained. 

Since I began this letter the Central Railroad has been 
finished, and next week a through train will leave here 
for Chicago to arrive in five days. 

Brother Butler and wife leave here next Saturday for 
home. Mrs. Barker's health is such that Brother Barker 
finds it necessary to resign and return to his Conference. 

Brother L. C. Smith and wife, newly appointed to 
Mexico, are here and have gone to Pachuca to take up 
Brother Barker's work. You see what a succession of 
surprises and changes, trials, and difti( nlties we are pass- 
ing through. 

I have been getting a good deal of work off hands, and 
am not quite so hard pressed as while Bisliop Warren was 
here, but I am still very busy and an apparently endless 
succession of perjilexities has come along in connection 
with the beginning of this year's work. I sometimes find 
faith and patience sorely tried. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 199 

Just now I am likely to have to press a long lawsuit 
in the federal courts, in resistance to an arbitrary and un- 
just proceeding of the tax collectors against our prop- 
erty here in Mexico City. Such business is exceedingly 
distasteful to me, and the anxiety arising out of the fact 
that the affair involves hundreds of dollars of the So- 
ciety's money is very wearing. I am grateful that we 
are both in good health, . . . 



(From my letter home) 

February 15. 

C. went with the bishop and his family to Queretaro 
last week. Mrs. Warren and the young people came back 
the next day, but C. and the bishop went on to Leon and 
Guanajuato and did not come home till Monday night. 
The next day we all went out to a small Indian town, 
twenty or thirty miles from here to lay the corner stone 
of a little church they are building there. 

We started at half past six and went out about twenty 
miles on the train. At the station we were met by a dele- 
gation of the brethren from the town to which we were 
going and from another one near there. There were 
eighteen or twenty horses and mules, and about half as 
many Indians. We selected the best horse for the bishop, 
and the most gentle one which happened to be a mule, 
for Mrs. Warren. One of the young ladies started off on 
a motherly old steed with a small colt following, the 
other on a large overgrown horse of uncertain age. C. 
chose a small lively one, that the Indians rather objected 
to his mounting for fear, as they said, he would crush it. 
The rest of us took what were left. We were a remarkable 
looking party ! 

It was only two or three miles to the town, but we had 
to go slowly and were some time on the way. When we 



L'UO TIIIKTIOIOX YKAKS IN MEXICO 

arrived we foiiud all the principal women of the congre- 
};ation waiting to welcome us, the cleanest, best looking 
Indian women we have ever seen. They had chocolate 
ready lor us, and after taking that, we mounted our 
horses and mules again and started up the mountain to 
see a large stone idol that was found there several years 
ago, and has attracted considerable attention among peo- 
ple interested in antiquities, as it is believed to be very 
old. It was about four miles from the village, and part 
of the road was extremely rough, but we reached there 
safely, saw the idol, a hideous stone image, and climbed 
about a while gathering wild flowers which grew thick on 
the slope of the mountain. 

We got back to the town about noon and, after dinner, 
held the services preparatory to laying the corner stone. 
The little room where they have been holding their serv- 
ices was crowded and the bishop spoke for some time, C. 
serving as interpreter. Then they proceeded to take up 
a collection, announcement being made that the bishop's 
wife had olfered, if there were ten persons who would 
give a dollar apiece, to give another ten. 

The members of the congregation who could command 
that amount, then came forward and soon made up the 
ten dollars, Mrs. Warren giving the other ten. Then she 
said that if there were twenty who would give fifty cents 
;i])ii'(c, she w<tuld give another ten d<dlars. It was a little 
liaider to collect this, l)ii( some members of our party 
came lo llie rescue and at last the amount was raised. 

Then those who had only quarters and dimes and even 
siiKilIci' aiiioiiiits look up their offerings, and a few small 
boys went forwaid taking a cent ajdece, evidently feeling 
very important. I'inally with a lillle more outside help, 
they made up tiie sum of s.'.d.I I, and then jn-oceeded to 
the laying ol' the (((vner stone. 

The bishop condiictetl the leremony in a very impres- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 201 

sive manner and the people looked on with great interest 
and reverence. They had never seen anything of the kind 
before. After this we distributed some papers and cards 
among them, said our farewells and started back to 
Mexico. 

We have all been saddened by the death of a Mexican 
preacher, who was bishop-elect in the Episcopal Church, 
but for reasons that I cannot give here, severed his con- 
nection with that denomination and came to us, asking 
for work in our Mission. He was considered a most valu- 
able acquisition, and was sent to Queretaro. The week 
after he reached there a message came, saying that he 
was alarmingly ill and asking that one of his sons go to 
him at once. Only an hour after this message was re- 
ceived, a telegram came announcing his death. 

He was the first Protestant to die in Queretaro, and 
the friends there were at a loss to know how to get the 
remains to the cemetery, as there was not a hearse in the 
whole city, the custom there being to carry the dead 
either on the shoulders of men, hired for the purpose, or 
as pall bearers do in our country. There were not enough 
of either who were willing or who could be trusted, so 
Mr. Greenman hired an express wagon from the American 
Express Company, had it draped in black as best he could, 
and in this improvised funeral car the remains were 
finally borne to their last resting place, one of the em- 
ployees of the company offering his services as driver. . . . 

(To his father) 

Mexico City, March 22, 1884. 
I write to-day that you may have word from us by the 
first through train on the Mexican Central Railroad. It 
is 2 p. M., March 22; let me know when it reaches you. 
We are much elated over the finishing of the railroad. We 
are fioins: to the station to see this train off ! . . . 



202 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

(From my letter home) 

April 18. 

C. is just home again after a week's absence in the in- 
terior, but expects to leave early to-morrow for Puebla. 
Mrs. Greeuraan and the children arrived in Queretaro 
from their six months' absence last Wednesday. They 
came overland and were five days on the road from 
Chicago. 

A new missionary arrived last week, Miss Eleanora Le 
Huray, of Summit, N. J. She comes to take cliarge of 
the Girls' Orphanage here in Mexico City. She was 
educated at the Moravian Seminary in Bethlehem, Pa., 
and is a fine musician. 

She evidently has strong convictions as to her call to 
mission work as she has entered upon it with little or no 
encouragement from her family. They did not fail her, 
however, when it came to the point of her actually under- 
taking the journey, as her father cabled C. to meet her in 
Vera Cruz. 

There has been considerable excitement here about a 
law recently enacted, requiring all sorts of goods and 
groceries to be stamped. It was to take effect the first 
of the month, but the merchants and grocers refused to 
comply with it, closed their places of business and for a 
week there was but one grocery and one dry goods store 
open in the whole city. They belong to the President, or 
at least he has some interest in them. 

It was feared that this would cause a general outbreak, 
and the government had five or six thousand soldiers 
under arms here in the city ready for any emergency. At 
last, however, a comijromise was effected between the 
merchants and the government, the stores were opened 
and business is going on about as usual. 

Thei-e are now two daily trains running on the Mexican 
Cential K;nli-o;id. The president of the road, Mr. Nicker- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 203 

son, of Boston, Mass., is now on his way here in a special 
car, which was sent on to him from here; the first car 
through to the Atlantic Coast, and the longest straight 
run ever made by a car in the world, so they say. It 
probably is, as the distance from here to El Paso is over 
twelve hundred miles, from El Paso to Saint Louis thir- 
teen hundred, and from Saint Louis to Boston about the 
same, altogether four thousand miles. . . . 



Mexico City, April 27, 1884. 
My dear Mother : 

It is Sunday night ; our services have closed early and I 
have a little time to write to you. It is not often I have 
a Sabbath as free from labor as this has been. I was to 
preach this morning in English, but the Presbytery of the 
Presbyterian Mission is in session here and one of their 
ministers, Mr. Wallace, of Zacatecas, took my place. So 
I heard him at 10 a. m.^ Dr. Fuentes at 11, and a Mexican 
preacher of the Presbyterian Church at night. 

Since I finished my last letter to you, I have been over 
almost the whole of our field. Went to Puebla with Ada 
and Lou, from there to Orizava, and on to Vera Cruz to 
meet Miss Le Huray. Then after three days at home I 
went to Pachuca and spent a Sabbath. The following 
Friday night I took the train for Silao, arriving there 
Saturday morning after a night in a Pullman sleeper, a 
new exj)erience in Mexico, and quite a contrast to the 
three days and a half diligencing, which used to be re- 
quired to reach that point. 

I spent Saturday in Silao, going on to Guanajuato in 
the evening. Preached and held Quarterly Conference 
there, and returned Sunday afternoon to Silao, to preach 
and hold communion service. 

Monday morning, got up at half past two, and at half 



I 



204 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

past three Brother Kemble and I were in the saddle and 
on our way to Cueraraaro, a distance of thirty-five miles, 
which we accomplished in six hours. The work in Cuera- 
maro is now. We visited with several friends there; got 
the title to a piece of ground donated by one Senor Vene- 
gas for the building of a church ; held meeting in the eve- 
ning; organized a society of twelve probationers; ap- 
pointed stewards; made arrangements for fitting up 
temporarily a place for meetings, and got to bod a little 
before midnight. 

We were called at four o'clock the next morning and at 
five were off on our return trip to Silao, where we arrived 
at half i)ast ten. The same evening at seven 1 took the 
train for Queretaro, arriving there at 11 o'clock, just as 
Mrs, Greenman and her children reached home. I 
stayed in C^iioretaro two days, jH-eaching and holding 
communion service, took the train Thursday night for 
Mexico City, arriving Friday morning. 

The following Monday I started early for Puebla, where 
we have on hand the i)urchase of a house for the W. F. M. 
S. Si)ent Monday and Tuesday in Puebla and got back 
home Wednesday night. 1 shall have to go to Puebla 
again some time this week, then to Orizaba and so on. 
So you see that I don't have a very quiet life of it and 
appreciate a Sabbath of rest such as this has been. 

Now that the railroad is finished we find a good many 
I)eople coming to Mexico, among them some we have 
known and others willi whom we have made pleasant ac- 
quaintance. Among tlie latter aiv Major Sisson and his 
wife from California, whom we met last year at Dr. 
Fowler's. A few days ago Mi-. Xiedringhaus, a wealthy 
manufacturer of Saint Louis, was here. lie is a warm- 
hearted Methodist, became much interested in o\ir work 
and i)romised us snbsl;intial help. 

We are looking torward with interest to General Con- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 205 

ference, as its action with reference to our Mission is 
likely to bring some change in my relation to the work, 
in consequence of the organization of an Annual Con- 
ference here. . . . 

Mexico City_, May 11. 

It is two weeks since I wrote you. During that time 
I have spent four or five days in Puebla, where I have 
bought a house for the school of the W. F. M. S., in Miss 
Warner's care. Last Sunday I preached in Ixtacalco. 
This week I have been at home. 

There has been much excitement here about the banks. 
Week before last there was a run on the bank of the 
National Monte de Piedad, a great loan establishment, 
which finally caused the suspension of its operations. 
Many poor people have suffered greatly. I came nearly 
being caught for |500 of Mission money ; but greatly to 
my surprise and joy I have received word that the draft 
was paid four or five days after the suspension, though 
no resumption has taken place. 

So far as I know, I am the only person who fared so 
Avell. It seems to me very providential, for though all the 
obligations of the bank will be met, the settlement will 
probably require two or three years, and it would have 
been very inconvenient for me to wait that long for the 
money. The credit of the other banks was subjected to a 
very severe strain, but they all came through trium- 
phantly. 

A large part}' of Americans from Boston, most of them 
directors or stockholders of the Mexican Central Railroad, 
are now here. There are twenty-four in the party, and 
it is said they represent a capital of fifty million dollars. 
We have met the president and his wife, and also Messrs. 
Speer and Pierce, prominent Methodists of Boston. Mr. 
S. is father-in-law of an old friend of mine. He took me 



206 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

yesterday to the headquarters of tlie board here and in- 
troduced me to most of the party. I went with them to 
visit the asylum for the blind. 

The Mexicans have been very favoral)ly impressed with 
these men and have given two banquets in their honor. 
Some of the party who have traveled very extensively in 
Europe, said the floral decorations at these two functions 
surpassed any they had ever seen. 

I am expecting to go to Orizava the middle of this week, 
and a few days later take a trip through the mountain 
districts of Tetela and Xochiapulco in the State of Pue- 
bla. We have some very promising work there, which 
much needs looking after. It is a very rough country, 
and I am anticipating some novel experiences. . . . 

Sax Juan de los Llanos, May 24. 

I got off as expected, made close connection in San 
Marcos and reached here a little after noon. Medina and 
a young man from Tetela were awaiting me. 

It was very unfortunate that I could not get here yester- 
day. A meeting was appointed for to-day at noon in 
Xochiapulco, and I have just had a telegram from there, 
saying that there were present twenty-four teachers and 
eight hundred children. We are to have another meeting 
there Monday and perhaps again on Saturday. 

We shall rest here to-night, and start to-morrow morn- 
ing at thrc^ o'clock for Tetala, twenty-one leagues, a ten 
hours' ride on horseback. We shall hold service there 
that night and on Monday go to Zautla and Xochiaj)uUo, 
and I shall be governed by circumstances as to the rest 
of the week. There are many obstacles to bo met and 
overcome in tliis region. 

This place is right up in a corner of the mountains. On 
three sides of the town the hills are very close, and though 
not apparently very high, are evidently the advanced 



J 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 207 

sentinels of a great mountain district. I want to get a 
thorough knowledge of the characteristics of this field, 
so as to be able properly to represent it and secure pro- 
vision for its needs. This region is not so isolated as one 
might suppose, all the hill towns being connected by tele- 
graph. 

It rained here early this morning, but has cleared off 
and is now bright and cool and bracing. I shall probably 
get plenty of sun and heat to-morrow, judging from the 
appearance of those who are to be my traveling compan- 
ions and who came over the road yesterday. ... 

A further account of this visit to the mountains of 
Puebla is given in an article entitled 

HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF 
By Bishop H. W. Warren 

"Then went out unto him Jerusalem and all Judea and 
all the region around about Jordan." 

(Every one waiting for the consolation of Israel and 
the world, should read the following extract from a letter 
from Rev. C. W. Drees, Superintendent of our Mission in 
Mexico. — Henry W. Warren, ) 

The work among the mountains, known as the Sierra de 
Puebla, which awakened so much interest in our Annual 
Meeting, continues very encouraging. I have just re- 
turned from a ten days' trip in that region, and I am 
persuaded that nowhere in Mexico can the teaching of the 
gospel be addressed to such large assemblies as we can 
bring together in those places. 

On our approach to Xochiapulco we were met by the 
leading man of the town, with twenty-four school-teachers 
from surrounding villages. In the main street we found 
two lines of children and youth stretching for about a 
hundred and fifty yards, drawn up to receive us. As we 



208 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

passed on betweeu the lines, all fell into column behind 
us, and so we marched to the sound of drum and trumpet 
to the schoolhouse. 

There were eight hundred boys and nearly two hundred 
girls in the company. Some were the very smallest. Boys 
and fjirls not more than seven or eight years old had 
walked four or five leagues over tlie hills and mountains 
to be present on this occasion. More than a thousand 
persons crowded into the large schoolroom, and about its 
doors and windows. When all was quiet the leader 
started the hymn translated from "The Great Physician 
Now is Near," after which we went on with the service in 
the usual way, and 1 preached to the largest congregation 
I have ever seen in Mexico. 

The Town Council offers us a fine site to put up a place 
of worship, with liberty to pull down the only Romish 
shrine in the place. Our friends will furnish a large part 
if not all of the stone and lumber, so that for about six 
hundred dollars we can put up a plain meeting house, 
suitable to the place and large enough to accommodate 
the attendance we may expect to have there. Xochiapulco 
exerts a widely extended influence in the Sierra and is one 
of the natural centers of the work. 

In Zautla a deserted Romish chapel is offered us if we 
will put it into condition for holding .services, at a cost of 
about a hundred dollars. 

I have planned to make another tour through these 
mountains before the year closes, and to send Brother 
Loza on a similiar visit, thus encouraging and developing 
the work up to our next Annual Meeting, when I trust it 
will be possible to .send at least two good men to live 
among those Indians and organize churches, which I be- 
lieve will soon become self-supporting and self -propagat- 
ing. 

Meanwhile, I earnestly pray that some friend or friends 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 209 

will be induced to give us at once the menus to fit up the 
Romish chapel in Zautla, and build the meeting house in 
Xochiapulco. The work has begun in a number of places 
besides those that I have mentioned, and the whole field 
is a most promising one. 

In June of this year there was a riotous outbreak in 
Celaya, of which some details are given in a letter of mine. 
We were to have gone to Queretaro last Wednesday, but 
on Tuesday a telegram came from Mr. Greenman saying 
there had been serious trouble in Celaya and that he 
would be here that night. C. went to the station to meet 
him and brought him up here to the house. He was greatly 
troubled, and we were no less so when we heard the de- 
tails of the affair. 

A mob had attacked the house where he and a Mexican 
preacher and his wife were preparing to hold a service. 
They drove them out, then followed them to an adjoining 
house where they had taken refuge, broke down the door, 
and finally fired two shots into the room where they were. 
Mr. G. then fired once, and the Mexican preacher twice, 
and it was alleged that between them they had killed one 
man and wounded two others. By this time the troops 
arrived and marched Mr. G. and his companion off to the 
barracks, where they were safely housed for the night, this 
being the only means of protecting them from the fury 
of the mob. 

C. left the next morning for Guanajuato, the capital of 
the State in which this occurred, to see the Governor and 
to do what can be done in the matter. Mr. G. went with 
him as far as Queretaro, to await developments. No 
blame whatever is attached to him, as it was so evidently 
a case of self-defense ; still, he may be arrested and have 
to stand a trial. I am going up to Queretaro to-morrow 
to stay with May until the matter is settled. . . . 



210 THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

QuBRETARO, Juue 28. 

I had not been here an hour, when Mr. Kemble arrived 
to say that he and C. had been in Celaya to see the Chief 
of I'olice and found that a warrant had already been 
issued for the arrest of Mr. G., the Mexican preacher, and 
his wife, and even the portero; so it was decided that it 
would be best for Mr. G. to go at once to Mexico City and 
put himself under the protection of the American Min- 
ister. 

May and I were in constant fear that they would come 
to arrest him, as there was no train till nearly midnight. 
So, as soon as it was dark, he left the house and went to 
Mr. Shamp's office (Wells, Fargo Express Company), 
where he waited till train time. Mr. K. went down to the 
station at the last moment and saw that he got oflf in 
safety, returning to reassure Ma}' and me that all was 
well so far. . . . 

This unfortunate matter dragged on for many weeks, 
during which consultations were held with the American 
Minister, the Governor of Guanajuato, and other promi- 
nent officials. At last, late in September, the Secretary of 
the Interior gave Mr. D. a letter to the Governor asking 
him, as a personal favor, to have the atrair investigated 
without requiring Mr. G. to be present, as he did not con- 
sider that it wouhl be jirudent for him to return to Celaj'a 
at that time. 

In a letter of mine, written soon after this, there is a 
reference to the trouble in (^ueretaro, which shows the 
delay in such matters: Mr. Cordova, who shot into the 
mob during the riot in Queretaro three years ago, was 
just here. The case has been in the courts ever since, and 
last month was finally decided against him. Sunday an 
order was issued for his arrest and imprisonment, but he 
heard of it in time to leave before it was put into execu- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 211 

tion, and came up here to consult C. The lawyer who de- 
fended him advises him to go to Texas, and this he plans 
to do in case C. approves. Indeed, his only safety seems 
to be in leaving the country. . . . 



Guanajuato, October 17, 1884. 

I was very much surprised to find Cordova here on my 
arrival from Silao, where I had gone to spend Sunday. Of 
course it was necessary for me to give immediate atten- 
tion to his case, and a very perplexing one I found it. 

After canvassing the whole matter as fully as I could, 
I decided to send him to the New Mexico Mission, with 
letters to Bishop Foss and Superintendent Harwood. So 
I started him oflE on the evening train, hoping he would 
reach Socorro in season to meet the bishop before he leaves 
there. Of course I had to write a long letter of explana- 
tion to the bishop, and an introduction to Brother Har- 
wood. I very much hope he will get employment in that 
Mission. 

Last night we had a large congregation at our service, 
and I had a good deal of "liberty" in preaching. We had 
an impressive communion service, and I closed up the 
evening's duties by holding Quarterly Conference. 

Early the next morning I took the stage for Marfil and 
the train from there to Silao. A long train was standing 
at the station, crowded with soldiers brought through 
from Mexico City in the night, bound for Lagos, and 
thence to Guadalajara and Tepic, so it is said. The Fifth 
Cavalry marched from Leon Wednesday in the same direc- 
tion, and other troops have left Guanajuato for the same 
destination. It is reported here that a formidable revolu- 
tion has broken out in the State of Jalisco. 

Brother Gamboa and I go this evening to Irapuato, 
where we shall hold a meeting in a private house, and to- 



212 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

morrow ou to Salaiiiauca, where we remain over Sun- 
day. . . . 

JOarly in September of tliis year, 1SS4, my brother went 
home for a brief visit, taking with him my sister whom 
wo liad ])roiiji;lil with ns on our return the year before. 
>\'hen he came back a few weeks later, my sister, Emma, 
came with liim to spend a few months with us. Wliat these 
visits of my sisters meant to me personally, so far from 
all my family and the friends of my childhood and youth, 
and what animation and merriment their youthful gayety 
and li^hlhoartedness brought into our home life, can well 
be imagined. 

(From my letter home) 

Mexico City, September 25, 1884. 

'ill is year we celebrated the 16th, Mexico's great na- 
tional holiday, .with unusual enthusiasm, all the Protes- 
tant churches in the city joining in the festivities. The 
large audience room of our church was full, about a thou- 
sand being present. We had it decorated with evergreens 
and flowers and flags, and it looked very festive. 

I made a large banner for our school, with a picture of 
Juarez on one side and the ^loxican colors on the other, 
and it was very much admired, and was the source of 
gi-eat pride and joy to the small boys who had the honor 
of carrying it. I also made each (tf them a sash of red and 
white and green, which added to the effect, and with their 
medals i)inned on their jackets they made quite a fine 
ajjpcarance. They were invited to march in the public 
l)rocession, and they and another Vrotestant school sang 
the Mexican National Hymn with orchestra accompani- 
ment and did very well indeed. 

The entertainment here at tlic church was at four 
o'clock. The program, which consisted of short speeches, 



I THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 213 

recitations, and patriotic songs, was two hours long. I 
played the piano, one boy the violin, another the cornet, 
and we had a good leader, so this part of the program was 
very successful ; some of the numbers being applauded so 
enthusiastically that they had to be repeated. 

The week after this, Mr. and Mrs. Butler returned from 
their six months' vacation, bringing with them Miss Mary 
Loyd, a new missionary, and C.'s youngest brother, 
Ernest. To celebrate Mr. and Mrs. Butler's return we 
had the boys of the school, with all their 16th of Septem- 
ber trappings — banners, iiags, etc. — formed in line at the 
entrance to welcome them. 

In the evening there was a reception for them, with 
brief addresses, singing, and an original poem which Mr. 
Palacios had sat up all night to compose for the occasion. 
Miss Loyd was introduced and made a most favorable im- 
pression. At the close of the exercises one of the boys 
of the school, in the name of them all, presented Mr. 
Butler with a silk hat ! . . . 



(To his father) 

Mexico City^ November 17, 1884. 

No doubt you have seen alarming telegrams from here 
these last few days. This was the nearest approach to a 
revolution we have had for seven years. It was over a 
bill passed by Congress to which the people were greatly 
opposed. They made such violent demonstrations of their 
opposition that it was found necessary to repeal it or to 
postpone any further action in the matter for the present. 

For several days the streets near the Hall of Congress 
were crowded with people, and the whole city was full of 
troops. At times the disorder and excitement became 
such that the soldiers were ordered to fire on the crowd, 
and many were killed and wounded. 



214 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

As soon as the matter was adjusted everything became 
as quiet as usual save for the general rejoicing. All over 
the city there were illuminations, fireworks, and bands 
of music at night, and yesterday the students of the prin- 
cipal schools marched through the streets in procession 
with bands of music, flags, and banners to celebrate their 
victory. 

Two weeks hence General Diaz will come into power, 
and there is a widespread expectation that things will 
improve, . . . 

December 1, 
This is Inauguration Day, and Diaz is now President ! 
The usual ceremonies of the occasion were celebrated this 
morning at nine o'clock. To-night there will be fireworks 
and a general jubilee. 

We are now nearing the close of the year, and are al- 
ready' looking forward to the arrival of the bishop who 
is to inaugurate our Annual Conference organization, 
thus ending my relation to the work under the title of 
superintendent. Bishop Merrill has written me that he 
desires me to serve a term as presiding elder, "What ar- 
rangements may be made by the coming bishop, I cannot, 
of course, foresee with any certainty. 



CHAPTER XII 

(From my letter home) 

Mexico City^ January 6, 1885. 

Bishop Harris and Mr. Phillips, of New York, treasurer 
of the Missionary Society, reached here New Year's morn- 
ing, two weeks sooner than we had expected them. They 
were here only two days, when they went with C. to visit 
the work in Queretaro, Guanajuato, and Leon, returning 
here yesterday morning. They spent the day and night 
here and left this morning for Orizava. From there they 
go to Puebla and Pachuca, and expect to be home again 
Monday night. 

Thursday, Conference begins, and as soon as that is 
over they will leave for New York. They will have had a 
very busy and hurried visit, but they have been much 
pleased with what they have seen of the work. Bishop 
Harris says there has been great improvement in all the 
departments of the work since he was here five years ago. 

I have scarcely seen C. the last month. He has been 
away from home almost constantly, and so busy when he 
was here that he has had to work till midnight or later. 
He reached home from a very hard trip among the Puebla 
mountains just the night before Christmas, which we cele- 
brated this year with unusual animation, having with 
us my sister and brother, Ernest, Mary Loyd, and Miss 
Le Huray. We had the parlor decorated with wreaths 
and garlands and festoons of evergreens, and it seemed 
very like a home Christmas. 

We all had very nice presents, too, among them a very 
large box of American apples and a basket of luscious 

215 



216 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

pears. It was a bright warm day and in the afternoon 
C. and I went for a horseback ride into the country. It 
was most enjoyable, and the whole day was a very happy 
one for us all. . . . 

The 9th of December, 1884, a cowardly attack was made 
upon Sr. Gamboa, one of our most useful and promising 
Mexican jDreachers. 

The Rev. Duston Kemble, who was then in charge of 
the district in which it occurred, gives this account of the 
tragedy : 

Mr. Gamboa, pastor of our Mission in Guanajuato, desired to 
make a visit to our little band of followers in the village of 
Cueramaro, about thirty-five miles southwest of Silao, in a region 
infested by lawless characters from whom I myself had several 
narrow escapes. He started at an early hour, riding my dapple 
gray horse, and accompanied by my usual traveling companion, 
Sr. Donaciano Saldana, a former soldier of the rurales, and 
familiar with the road. Scarcely a mile out of Silao they were 
met by three mounted men, evidently waiting for them, half 
concealed by the darkness. As they were about to pass, the 
leader of the bandits shouted, "Halt there!" and as Saldana 
instinctively reached for his gun, he shouted a second time, 
"Drop Mm!' at which their three old-fashioned horse pistols rang 
out together, and the brave soldier leaped from his saddle pierced 
by a ball through the heart. Mr. Gamboa, unhurt, tried to spur 
his horse, but, unknown to him, the splendid animal was shot 
through the neck as he reared at the first alarm, and became 
almost unmanageable. One of the robbers followed and fired 
throe times, the last shot passing through the preacher's body 
just below the heart. After a brief examination of both men, 
the murderers fled with the arms and saddles, remarking that it 
was too bad they had hit the horse. Mr. Gamboa lay on the 
ground until long after daylight, and nearly bled to death before 
the passersby had notified the authorities, who finally came out 
and brought both men into town. No little sympathy was 
expressed by the people of Silao; and the preacher's wife heroic- 
ally assisted Dr. Alvarez and myself in nursing him back to life, 
with so much success that six weeks later he was able to attend 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 217 

Conference in Mexico City. The leader of the robbers was after- 
ward shot by the mounted police in the streets of Silao. 

(From my letter home) 

January 30. 

Conference is over, and the bishop and Mr. Phillips have 
just gone to the train. Our Mission is now an Annual 
Conference, composed of one district, of which C. is pre- 
siding elder. He also continues as treasurer of the Mis- 
sion, and was again elected editor of our church paper. 
El Abogado. 

We had a most pleasant and harmonious session, and 
though two or three brethren who had hoped for certain 
things were disappointed, they bore their disappointment 
with good grace and seemed inclined to make the best of 
the situation. The Conference in a body sat for their pic- 
tures one day, and they are quite good for so large a 
group, and a nice looking lot of people, all things con- 
sidered. 

Mr, Phillips came to Mexico feeling rather troubled 
about some things, but after he had investigated matters 
and saw how they really were, he was quite relieved. In 
a brief address he made one day to the Conference, he 
said he was very glad he had come, that he had found 
the Mission much larger and more prosperous than he 
had expected, and that he had been greatly pleased with 
his whole visit. 

We had a letter from Galdiuo last week, written while 
at home for the holidays. He said among other things 
that he found you kind and affectionate as usual, always 
thinking more of other people's comfort and happiness 
than your own ; that father was quiet and "pensive" and 
generally absorbed in business matters, but that there 
was something in his face that inspired him with con- 
fidence and made him like to be near him, and there to 



218 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

meditate ou his own future, and all that he hopes to do 
and to be, when he has finished his college course. He 
said that before the holidays, when all the other boys 
were talking of home, it was a great comfort to him to 
feel that there was a place that was home to him, even in 
a foreign country, and far from all his own family and 
childhood friends. . . . 

Early in February we received news of the sudden death 
of my youngest sister, nineteen years of age, who had 
spent the previous year with us. She had gone home 
only four months before, full of life, and the picture of 
health, so that we were totally' unprepared for such a 
message, and it caused us all inexpressible sorrow. 

The latter i)art of the same month, a telegram came, 
announcing the death in Queretaro, of one of our Mexican 
preachers, from whom Mr. Drees had received a letter 
only two days before. His brother wrote that he had 
preached with unusual enthusiasm and feeling, so much 
so that a crowd of roughs just outside the church, who 
were disturbing the congregation by loud laughing and 
talking, finally became quiet and attentive. 

Just as he was finishing his sermon he raised his eyes 
as if in prayer, his voice failed, and he fell dead in the 
pulpit. They sent for physicians, but he was past all 
help. It was thought at first that death was caused by 
congestion of the brain, but a post mortem examination 
was held and they found, so they said in Spanish, that 
his heart was broken. 

(To his father) 

Mrxico City, March 29, 1885. 
I have for many days been h()i)ing to get a letter written 
but have been so pressed above measure by duties that 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 219 

could not be postponed, tliat I have been hindered. The 
last six months have, I thinly, been the busiest of my life. 
The change of my nominal relation to the work has made 
very little change in the nature of my duties. In addition 
to my former work, the editorial charge of our monthly 
paper has been laid upon me and requires a great deal of 
attention. 

I have reason to be thankful for robust health, which 
enables me to keep up in some degree with the demands of 
my position,, though sometimes I find things accumulating 
in a very discouraging way. 

Our work generally is in a more prosperous condition 
than it has ever been before. There is deeper religious 
interest, congregations are growing, membership is in- 
creasing, and fields white unto the harvest are opening be- 
fore us. This is true notwithstanding the manifest re- 
vival of devotion to Romanism, noticeable in certain 
quarters. We are looking with faith for still greater 
prosperity. 

Ernest is very happy at the thought of going home the 
first of May. He has given very good satisfaction in his 
work in the railroad office. Not only has there been no 
complaint, but Mr. Webb, the auditor, has spoken very 
well of him and given him a very good testimonial. His 
immediate superior also speaks highly of him. We shall 
all miss him. 

I have just finished my first quarterly round, and for 
the last six weeks have spent only one Sunday at 
home. . . . 

(To his mother) 

Mexico City^ June 11. 
I got home Monday evening from a two weeks' trip of 
over 600 miles, in which T made less than half the round 
of my district. I rode nearly a hundred miles on horse- 



220 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

back, and came back very much burued by the sun, most 
of the skin peeling otf my face. 

1 found the work in good condition, and there are many 
interesting features I would like to write about if time 
would permit. I visited for the first time a large farm, 
whose owner has declared himself on our side, and brings 
all his laborers into his own house to tlie services. He 
offers us 175 acres of land, if we will establish an indus- 
trial school on it. We have so many other enterprises on 
foot that I fear it will be some time before we can com- 
pass this. 

Mrs. Bishop Warren has given us eight cabinet organs 
for different places, among them one for Acayuca, a town 
I visited last week. This organ had reached the nearest 
railroad station, about ten miles away. They were dis- 
cussing the best way to bring it over, and the brethren 
seemed to find some difficulty in fixing the matter up, 
when one of the sisters, a woman fifty years old, said : 
^'Well, if the brethren can't get it here, we women will go 
over and bring it ourselves." (It had to be carried on 
men's shoulders.) 

That sister has been treasurer of the committee to raise 
money to pay the duties and freight. Chiefly by her ex- 
ertions about $50 have been collected, and yet the people 
there are poor, in a sense and to a degree of which you 
can scarcly have any conception. 

On Sunday I preached three times, held two communion 
services, baptized six children, and held a Quarterly Con- 
ference. . . . 

CHiGXAiirAi'AX, August 30, 1885. 

I reached Apizaco in due time yesterday afternoon, and 

spent the rest of the day in the school, examining various 

classes. Had supper and stayed all night with the Bernals 

in the Mission house. Rose at five o'clock and got off on 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 221 

the diligence at six. I was the only passenger, and got 
well bounced and shaken up. Believe I should prefer to 
make the trip on horseback. 

Preached here at half past two, took a room in the 
"meson," and had dinner at a little "fonda" — quite satis- 
factory — for eighteen cents. Soon afterward Medina ar- 
rived from Tetela with a horse for me. We took a little 
walk through the town, and now I am writing this on the 
counter of the store where I bought this stationery. 

To-morrow morning will, I hope, find us at sunrise well 
on our way to Tetela. Perhaps we shall salute the rising 
sun from the top of the mountain ridge. We shall prob- 
ably turn aside a little from our road to go through the 
Canada to see George Schley. We ought to reach Tetela 
about noon. 

Medina sent over to Fernandez at Xochiapulco for the 
two horses, so I shall have the same beast all the way, and 
as I shall not have to return the horses this way, I shall 
likely go from Xochiapulco to San Juan de los Llanos, 
trying to reach there by noon on Monday, so as to get 
home the same night. 

This village of Chignahuapan is a regular mountain 
town, very "trist," and has the reputation of being very 
fanatical. Medina says he narrowly escaped being 
mobbed here a few weeks ago. . . . 



(To his father and mother) 

Mexico City, September 13, 1885. 

This is my birthday and our wedding anniversary. It 
is eight years to-day since we were married. I arranged 
my work so as to get home yesterday evening. We had 
a few intimate friends to dinner with us. 

I have been away from home most of the time for two 
weeks. The second of September I set out for the Sierra 



222 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

of the State of Puebla. Went by rail to Apizaco, where 
I stayed over night, and the next day by stage to Chigna- 
huapan, about thirty-five miles. Friday went on horse- 
back to Tetela, twenty-two miles distant, one of onr Mexi- 
can preachers accompanying me. 

The road was very mountainous, leading over a higli 
ridge and through very fine scenery. We were in the 
saddle six hours and reached our destination about noon. 
In the afternoon I called on a gentleman, son of the late 
Governor of Puebla. He has just returned from a three 
months' journey in the United States, and was very enthu- 
siastic over what he saw and the attentions he received. 

He is a sincere friend of our cause and repeated the 
assurance of his svmpathy and help. He and his family 
are very influential all through the Sierra, which is popu- 
lated entirely by Indians, most of whom know very little 
of the Spanish language. 

We also went up a very narrow mountain gulch to see 
an American family who had lately moved there, the only 
such family in all the region. Mr. Schley is a mining 
engineer, and is putting up reduction works to extract 
gold and silver from the ores which are available in the 
mines of the district. We were cordially received and had 
a pleasant visit. 

We rode back in the twilight and early darkness in 
time to hold meeting. I preached again from the words: 
"These that have turned the world upside down are come 
hither also," taking occasion to explain tlie true nature 
of Protestantism as simply a return to evangelical and 
apostolic Christianity. The people were very attentive 
and seemed to hear the word with gladness. 

At 8 o'clock Saturday morning. Brother Medina and I 
were again in the saddle, bound for Xochiapulco, seven 
leagues distant. Our road led us over two high summits, 
with a deep valley between them, then down a steep rocky 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 223 

ravine across a rapid river, up a third mountain, tlien 
down thousands of feet into a gorge and up the opposite 
side to the hill top on which Xochiapulco is situated. 

The road is so steep and in places so rough, that the 
horses must stop to take breath every few minutes, and 
if the horseman wishes to make speed or has a tender 
regard for his own neck, he must at times dismount and 
climb afoot, dragging his beast of burden after him. 

We reached Xochiapulco about two o'clock, and after 
a hasty meal, went at once to the schoolhouse, where the 
congregation was already assembled. It consisted of some 
two hundred boys and girls of ages ranging from five to 
eighteen years, with a few older people. This was the 
third time I had visited them, and I found with pleasure 
that I have a great many friends among the throng of red- 
skinned youngsters. During my previous visit, eight 
months before, I had given them a motto and charged 
them to remember it. When I asked them to repeat it, a 
whole chorus of voices sung it out with a will. So I 
preached specially to them. 

The next day, accompanied by Brother Fernandez, who 
is doing the work of an evangelist in all that region, I 
rode five leagues to Mazapa, where we spent the night. 
Monday we were off before six, without any breakfast, 
and rode twenty-five miles to San Juan de los Llanos. I 
reached there in time to get something to eat and take 
the train for San Marcos, where I changed cars for Mexico 
City, reaching home at nine o'clock that night. 

I should have to write many pages to give you anything 
like a complete account of the incidents and impressions of 
such a trip. The whole region, of which I traversed only 
a small part, is ripe for the gospel. We have influential 
friends there, who open the way for us. The poor people 
are as sheep having no shepherd, utterly neeglected by the 
priests, and extremely ignorant of all religious truth. 



224 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

But they are industrious, peaceable, and docile, very ready 
to hear and obey the truth. 

Here is a partial list of tlio places Brother Fernande?: 
visits every two weeks or oftener. You will see liow 
thoroughly Indian the names are: Ixtaltenango, Tenam- 
pulco, Yxihuaco, Yautetelco, Tecuicuilco, Xacumulco, etc. 

These villages comprise a population of about 12,000 
souls. In each place the schoolhouse is held at our dis- 
posal for services, and in all the schools, with a thousand 
pupils in attendance, the New Testament is read and our 
Gospel Hymns are sung; yet this district is but a small 
part of a region which is now accessible to us, and in 
which no other church is laboring. 

We are looking forward to the new year, hoping that 
the General Missionary Committee Avill be able to make 
larger provision for our work. 

September 19. 

I began this letter on the 13th, but was not able to finish 
it. Wednesday was Independence Day, and I went to 
Pachuca to be present at the reception, a Cornish, Eng- 
lish, Wesleyan Tea Meeting, given to Brother Salmans and 
his wife, who have just arrived under appointment to the 
English work in Pachuca and Mineral del Monte. 

I came home Thursday and have been very busy getting 
material together for the October number of the Abogado, 
our Advocate. . . . 

(To his mother) 

Orizaba, November 29, 1885. 
1 have had to keep in constant motion this month. First 
to go to Zacatecas to confer with a priest who is on the 
point of openly renouncing K'oinanism; then to Aguas 
Calientes to look for a little American child whose mother 
died more than a year ago, and whose father, given up to 



i 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 225 



drink, left her abandoned in a Mexican family. Her 
friends on her mother's side, well-to-do people in eastern 
New York, had written to Mary Loyd to make inquiries 
and see if the child could be found and sent home to them. 

I took the matter in hand and found that the people 
who had her were not disposed to give her up, but I ascer- 
tained the whereabouts of her father, and a fcAv days after 
my return to Mexico City, went to Morelia and persuaded 
him to give me a letter and power of attorney to take pos- 
session of the child. Last Monday I went again to Aguas 
Calientes, and on Wednesday the authorities gave her 
over to me and I reached home with her Thanksgiving 
morning. She is about six years old, a very sweet little 
thing, quite pretty, and knows not a word of English. 
Her Mexican friends, who had been very kind to her, and 
to her mother in her last illness, had had her baptized in 
the Roman Church. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving by having a few friends to 
dinner and going, in the evening, to a reception at the 
American Legation. I was up the next morning at five 
o'clock and took the train for Cordova, where I preached 
and administered the communion, returning home Satur- 
day. I preached here this morning, and am to preach and 
hold communion service to-night. 

When I reach home to-morrow night I shall have 
traveled since October 28 about 2,500 miles, all by rail, 
besides preaching ten times, getting out the Abogado and 
other work. I shall be crowded on in about this way now 
till after Conference, which will meet January 14. 

As I write there is a great clangor of bells in the tower 
of the parish church, a square away, and volley after 
voile}' of rockets, to-day beginning the two weeks' festival 
of the Virgin of Gnadalupe, the Great Diana of the 
Mexicans. At the veritable shrine of the apparition of 
this Virgin, near Mexico City, a ceremony is to be held 



I 



226 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

the 12th of December this year, Avliicli has not been held 
for the last hundred and fifty years, namely, the formal 
oath of fealty to the Virgin is to be taken by the assembled 
multitude. For days past, a great many people, mostly 
Indians, have been coming into Mexico City on foot, over 
different roads, to be present at tliis feast. 

8uch is the influence which that monkish invention still 
has over this people. It must yet be a long struggle to 
overthrow this paganism, but the time will come when 
He shall reign whose right it is. Tlio work is going for- 
ward, and I sometimes wonder whether it will not be so 
that at some time in the not distant future, the Lord will 
cut short the work in righteousness and destroy by the 
brightness of his coming the mystery of iniquity which 
certainly would seem to be now fully manifested. We can 
only stand in our lot, and work and wait. . . . 

Pachuca, December 5, 1885. 

I reached Irolo in good time, Thursday morning, but 
only to find that under the new arrangement of trains, 
there would be none leaving for Pachuca till noon, so T 
had to wait there nearly four hours! When we reached 
Tepa there had no horse arrived for me to go across to 
Tezontepec, so I had to go on to Pachuca, leaving Brothci- 
Smith, who had gone to meet me, to make the journey 
alone. 

Arriving at Pachuca I got a horse as quickly as possible 
and started for Tezontepec about four o'clock. I made 
good time till darkness overtook me about two leagues 
from the town. It was cloudy and so dark that I had 
great diiliculty in keeping the road, and had to go very 
slowly. Finally I rode up to the chapel door just as they 
were singing the last hymn l)eforo tlie sermon. A boy 
took my horse and I went in, took a text and preached as 
best I could. After the preaching service held Quarterly 



^ THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 227 

Conference and after that had a little supper, and got to 
bed about eleven o'clock, a pretty tired itinerant. 

Friday morning Brother Smith and I set out for Pa- 
chuca, arriving there at noon. As I have not ridden any 
for two or three months, these sixteen leagues were enough 
to bruise me up considerably, especially as I had a trotting 
horse. Held Quarterly Conference at the close of prayer 
meeting last night, and was busy yesterday afternoon and 
most of to-day in consultation with Brothers Smith and 
Salmans about Mission matters. 

To-morrow morning early, I shall be on my way to Real 
del Monte, where I am to preach at nine o'clock in 
Spanish, and at one in English; then on to Omitlan for 
Spanish service at three, and back to Pachuca for Spanish 
preaching and communion at seven. 

Monday afternoon. Brother Salmans and I go on horse- 
back to Zinguilucan, where we are to hold opening serv- 
ices on Tuesday. Wednesday I will be on the way to 
Irolo, which I hope to reach by noon. All the friends 
here are well and the work is encouraging. 

December 10. 

Brother Smith met me in Irolo and accompanied me on 
this journey and was of great assistance to me. From 
Irolo we went to Xochihuacan, where we took horses for 
Acayuca, four leagues distant, arriving about six o'clock. 
We held service at night with a large number in attend- 
ance and were much encouraged by the interest mani- 
fested. 

The next morning we rode to Tezontepec. five leagues 
further, held Quarterly Conference in the afternoon and 
a preaching service at night, which was also well at- 
tended. The following day we set out early for Tulan- 
cingo, thirteen leagues, reaching there at four o'clock, and 
held services in the newly fitted up chapel, an occasion of 



228 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

special interest to the brethren there as well as to our- 
selves. 

Friday morning we left for Alfacayuca, five leagues, 
arriving at noon. We held a meeting at night and left 
there the next morning, going on to Pachuca, which we 
reached after a ride of six leagues, a good deal tired, much 
sunburned, and with our clothes badly used up. 

Mexico City, December 16, 1885. 

I reached Miraflores Sunday, at eleven o'clock, preached 
and held Quarterly Conference, and after dinner started 
on horseback for Ayapango, arriving at half past four. 
Held meeting in the evening, visited the school the next 
morning, and went to Ameca to take the train at 1 p. m., 
getting back here at four. 

I must finish the translation of the last chapter of Long- 
king's Light to the Path to-night, and get material in 
order for the next issue of the Abogado. I shall be dread- 
fully busy these next two days, getting ready to start on 
Thursday to Salamanca, then on to Guanajuato and Leon 
on my fourth quarterly visit. 

I feel like I am going on what is to be my last round 
up the country for a good while to come. Yet who can 
tell what the Conference and bishop may bring forth? 
I have a letter from Bishop Foster saying he will reach 
Guanajuato Saturday, the 19th, at which time I am to be 
there according to my plan. . . . 

Bishop Foster arrived at the time he expected, and 
visited with Mr. Drees all the Mission stations to the 
north, before coming to Mexico City. He spent Christmas 
and the following days in Puebla, the guest of Mr. and 
Mrs. Siberts, and went on December 30 to Pachuca, and 
thence to Mexico City, where Conference met the 14th of 
Jauuaiy. 



CHAPTER XIII 

(From my letter home) 

Mexico City, January 28, 1886. 

Conference is over and we had an unusually pleasant 
and harmonious session. Very few changes were made, 
the principal one, however, afifecting us more than any of 
the others. The Conference was divided into three dis- 
tricts: the Northern, including Leon, Guanajuato, and 
Queretaro, with Mr. Craver as presiding elder; the 
Southern, including Puebla and Orizava, with Mr. Green- 
man in charge; and the Central, including Mexico City, 
three or four smaller places, and Pachuca, for C. to su- 
perintend. 

Some of the Americans and all the Mexicans objected 
to this arrangement, believing it was better to continue 
as last year, with but one district and C. in charge of it. 

Bishop Foster stayed with us, and was a most delight- 
ful guest. Indeed, his visit was a blessing to all of us per- 
sonally, as well as to the general work of the Mission. On 
Sunday, he preached his great sermon from the text: 
"What is man that thou art mindful of him?" General 
Jackson, the American Minister, and his wife were pres- 
ent and remained to the Spanish service afterward. 

While we were at dinner the door bell rang, and the 
servant came ushering in General Jackson, who wished 
to see the bishop. He was evidently under such stress of 
emotion that he could scarcely speak. He said he only 
wished to take him by the hand and thank him for that 

229 



230 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

sermon, that it was the most wonderful thing he had ever 
heard. 

Conference closed Monday, and that night we had a 
farewell reception for the bishop, inviting onlj^ the mem- 
bers of the Conference, forty-five in number, Mexicans and 
Americans. All but one were able to come, and the eve- 
ning proved to be a very enjoyable one. 

We have been trying to find some one going to the 
States with whom we could send the little girl C. brought 
down from Zacatecas last November, but no one has 
seemed willing to take charge of her. As soon as Bishop 
Foster knew of it, he offered to take her with him, though 
she knows no English and he no Spanish. 

When C. went to see Mr. Branniff, the president of the 
railroad, to ask for a pass for her to Vera Cruz, he took 
her with him, and Mr. B. not only gave a pass for her, but 
also one for C, and another for the bishop, and §5 besides 
"to buy candies" on the way home, he told her. The 
bishop, however, paid his own fare, and gave me the 
benefit of his pass; so C. and I went with them to Vera 
Cruz, saw them on board the steamer and arranged with 
the stewardess to take charge of the child and save the 
bishop all possible trouble with her. . . . 

February 15. 

C. has just bought to-day, for the W. F. M. S., a prop- 
erty around the corner from us, adjoining this building in 
the rear, for the orphanage, for ^40,000. We cannot get 
possession of it until August, but it will belong to the 
Mission as soon as the papers are made out, which will be 
some time this week. Miss Le Huray and Mary Loyd are 
having a jubilee to-day, they are so pleased with their new 
acquisition. 

Mr. Green, of the Presbyterian Mission, is home again, 
that is here in Mexico, and brought for the orphanage a 



I 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 231 



present from some society in the States of a hundred and 
five sheets; but the Custom House olficials in Paso del 
Norte seized them and Mary had to pay |70 in duties 
and fines. He also brought some dress goods for one of 
their missionaries, which cost three dollars in New York, 
and they charged nine dollars duties on that! This is 
the usual result of trying to have anything brought out 
from home. . . . 

Zacualtipan^ June 2, 1886. 

Brother Salmans and I have carried out our intention 
to remain here several days, and feel that we are well re- 
paid. Sunday night we had our first service, with an 
attendance inside of about fifteen, and a number of at- 
tentive hearers outside. On Monday we spent the morn- 
ing visiting two or three houses where our friends live, 
and in a prolonged interview with the Chief of Police, who 
received us with great kindness and talked very freely and 
cordially with us. He is an elderly man who served 
against the French and was made prisoner and carried to 
France. 

In the afternoon we went with Herbert Rhett, a coun- 
tryman of ours, who is in charge of an iron mine near here, 
to visit the iron works about a league down the gorge and 
800 meters below the level of this place, and to a flour 
mill a little lower down. It was a pleasant ride and we 
enjoyed it very much. We got back in time to have supper 
before church. We had a little larger attendance than 
the night before. 

Tuesday morning we went early, before five o'clock, to 
the river to bathe. The stream is a rocky, shallow one, 
where the water has worn holes in the living rock several 
feet deep, and here we bathed in the open air. The water 
was very cold and the bath quite invigorating. In the 
forenoon I settled accounts and made some arrangements 



232 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

with the local preacher, Espinoza, and wrote a communi- 
cation to the authorities giving notice of the establish- 
ment of our church. 

In the afternoon there was an arrival at the hotel in 
which I was much interested. It was that of an aged 
priest who came in from Molango, seven leagues distant. 
He was lodged in the room next to ours, and I soon found 
that he was the same priest with whom I had a long con- 
versation some years ago, on the way from Orizaba to 
Puebla, and who called on me and attended one or two 
services in our church in the latter place. He recognized 
me and called me into his room, embracing me with great 
effusiveness. 

He has resigned his parish and is on his way to Mexico 
City, expecting to travel through the interior and perhaps 
return to Spain. He assured me of his intention to call 
on us next week in Mexico Cit3^ I first met him in 187G. 
He is very liberal, very skeptical concerning the doctriues 
of his own church, but has continued in the priesthood 
from necessity, convenience, or habit, perhaps from all 
three. 

We called on the Juez de Letras, Senor Morenas y Con- 
treras, to whom Brother Salmans had a letter of introduc- 
tion. He is a young man, speaks English, as does also 
his wife, and received us with great cordialit}^ insisting 
that we must dine at his house to-morrow. He knows 
Gamboa well, and once traveled with Miss Swaney from 
Pachuca to Mexico City. He has a very exalted opinion 
of ]\Iiss S. ; says she is "very intelligent and very learned." 

Our meeting at night was more largely attended than 
ever and a good deal of serious interest prevailed. I 
pi-eached, and was drawn ont to preacli at considerable 
length. We dosed at quarter past nine, but all sat down 
again, and did not seem at all anxious to leave the place. 
Indeed, Brother Salmans and I were the first to go out. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 233 

lu the afternoon one of the brethren came to ask us to go 
to his house to talk with his father, who is as yet uncon- 
vinced of the truth. We went and had an extremely in- 
teresting conversation with a very simple-hearted, gentle 
old man. 

This is our last day here. We expect to get off at four 
o'clock, and if our horses stand the journey well we shall 
go through to Tulanciugo by six or seven in the evening. 
We have three horses and shall use them in relays. The 
road is good, and the distance about sixty English miles. 
I hope to go to Alfajayuca Saturday afternoon, on to 
Real del Monte Sunday morning, to Pachuca in the eve- 
ning, and home again on Monday ! 

(From my letter home) 

Washington's birthday was celebrated here this year by 
the laying of the corner stone of the new American Hos- 
pital, in which we are all greatly interested. It is located 
just in the edge of the city, on the road to Tacuba, but 
some distance from any line of street cars and in the midst 
of green fields and woods. A more suitable place could 
not have been found. 

Both the American railroads gave their employees a 
holiday, and many of them were present at the exercises. 
A large tent or awning was put up, with seats for the 
ladies, refreshments were served, and it was made a very 
pleasant as well as an interesting occasion. 

The English as well as the American residents here 
have long realized the great need of such an institution 
and are very enthusiastic over it, and disposed to do all 
they can to make it what it should be. 

Mr. Jones, a missionary from Bulgaria, is spending a 
few days with us. He had to leave there on account of 
his health, and was advised to try the climate of Mexico. 
Unfortunately, he has not improved, although he went 



234 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

for a while to Ciiautla, which is much warmer and much 
lower than Mexico City. As he found he was failing 
rather than gaining, he decided to go back home, and is 
now on his way there, expecting to sail by the next 
steamer for New Orleans. He hopes to get a position in 
Claflin University. 

He is bright and cheerful and never complains ; is very 
earnest and interested in his work and anxious to return 
to it. He has decided, however, that he will have to give 
up that idea for another year, but hopes in the meantime 
to be able to do something in the South. It is pathetic 
to hear him talk about it and in such a hopeful way, for 
no one else thinks he will ever see Bulgaria again. 

(From my letter home) 

July 25, 1886. 

We are just home from a delightful trip to Morelia and 
Patzcuaro, on the Mexican National Railroad. We left 
here early Monday morning, a party of seven, the guests 
of Mr. Webb, the auditor of the company. We took a 
large basket of provisions, and the porter carried a spirit 
lamp and cooked eggs and made coffee, so that we had 
lunch whenever we wanted it, and dined at the stations 
where there were restaurants, telegraphing our orders in 
advance of our arrival. 

The country through wliich lliis road passes is like some 
parts of our own country, with beautiful plains and val- 
leys and sl()j)es, smoolli and green as a well-kept lawn, 
and whole tields of yellow and purple and white wild 
flowers. 

We reached jMorelia, the largest city on the road, about 
nine o'clock that niiilil and spent the night there, sleej)- 
\i\'^ oil or in oiii- own private car, which was most con- 
venient and com I'orl aide. The iioxf day we wont on to 
Patzcuaro, the pi('s<Mit terminus ol' the I'oad, -75 miles 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 235 

from Mexico City. The town is two miles or more from 
the railroad station, and we walked up there, visited the 
churches and other places of interest, and then, seeing a 
diligence about to start in that direction, got seats on top 
of it and had a beautiful view of the lake and the whole 
country round about as we went back. 

The next morning we went across the lake to a little 
Indian town, which we found quite interesting. We went 
in an immense sail boat, large enough to hold a hundred 
people, and coming back the wind fell and they had to 
resort to the oars, so that we were an hour and a half on 
the return voyage, instead of half an hour. 

At two o'clock we started back to Morelia, arriving 
there at five. We had time to go up town, visit the cathe- 
dral and other interesting places before supper, and in 
the evening went to the park. Thursday we spent most 
of the day in the Alameda, a large, neglected park in the 
edge of the city, but such a lovely old place that we were 
loath to leave it. 

We had one more pleasant, comfortable night in our 
unusual quarters, and early the next morning started on 
our return journey, reaching home at eight o'clock that 
evening. The whole week was most enjoyable and the 
outing did us a world of good. 

(To his mother) 

Mexico City, September 18, 1886. 
We have just passed through the festivities with which 
the Mexican Independence Day, September 16th, is cele- 
brated. A serenade and felicitation to the President on 
the 14th ; parades of schools and working men during the 
day on the 15th, with the so-called "Grito" at night. This 
last ceremony is the commemoration of the decisive act 
of Hidalgo who, at dead of night in the town of Dolores, 
caused the church bells to be rung and, going out on the 



236 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

balcony of his house, raised the cry of "Viva la Indepen- 
dencia !" 

So it is customary to have a public meeting on the night 
of the ir>th, witli music and pojjular addresses up to the 
memorable hour wlien the Declaration of Independence 
is read and the chief ofificial of each place takes the flag 
and, waving it, raises the cry, "Viva la Independencia!" 

The great day, of course, is the IGtli, with its memorial 
services in the "Cemetery of Illustrious Men," with its 
civic and military i)arade, its i)nl>lic concert in the grand 
plaza and, this year, with a ball in honor of the President. 
which was attended by more than three thousand people, 
and is said to have cost ^70,000. The ball room was fitted 
up in the School of Mines, the whole of the great court 
being built over at the level of the second floor and covered 
with a canvas roof, the entire place being most hand- 
somely decorated. 

I went to Miraflores the afternoon of the 15th, to be 
present at the celebration held by our school there. After 
our program had been rendered, we marched to the tent 
where the village was to celebrate the occasion, and 
listened to a speech, followed by siiiiiing and lireworks. 
The affair did not come to a close till midnight. I came 
back to Mexico City the morning of the IGth, and our 
chni-ch and the Episcojtalian Mission had an enthusiastic 
celebration in our large audience room in the afternoon. 

I go this afternoon to Ayapango to stay till Monday, 
and the last of next week must go to T*achuca and thence 
to Zacualtipan, a long journey on horseback. . . . 

Zacialtipax, October 28, 1880. 
Brother Salmans and I got up at five o'clock Tuesday 
morning, hoping to get under way by six, but were de- 
layed in g«'ltiiig our horses pi"oj»erly saddled and our im- 
mense bundles suitably arranged, so that it was nearly 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 237 

seven when we finally started. As soon as we got up the 
mountain a little way, we found the wind quite cold and 
soon were enveloped in the clouds and had to get out our 
rubber blankets, which we did not remove till we reached 
Atotouilco, El Grande, twenty miles from Pachuca. 

We stopped half an hour at Omitlan and from there to 
Atotonilco we rode over a very bad road in the midst of a 
cold driving rain. When we reached here and had gotten 
a little dinner, it was still so cold and rainy, and I was 
feeling so uncomfortable with wet clothes and a head- 
ache, that we concluded to go no further that day. To- 
ward night we got a good sized ''brasero," and sending for 
a supply of charcoal soon had a good fire going in the 
"zaguan" with the outer doors closed, and at last got 
thoroughly dried and warmed. 

There was a poor old Indian woman who, with her son, 
had traveled many miles in the rain that day and was 
soaked to the skin. They were too poor to take a room, 
and there she sat out of doors, shivering with cold. We 
had her draw up to our fire and dry all her clothes, till at 
last she was perfectly comfortable and began to nod over 
the fire. About nine o'clock she made her bed, by laying 
down on the rough stones of the courtyard the coarse 
bagging which formed the pack-saddle of one of her 
donkeys, and retired for the night, bestowing profuse 
blessings on us, in the name of Heaven and the Virgin, 
for the comfort of our fire. 

The same afternoon we went to see Wesley's aunt. We 
knocked at the outer entrance and, getting no answer, 
pushed it open and went from door to door in the court- 
yard, till at last we heard a faint answer, and going in 
found the old lady had gone to bed with all her clothes 
on to keep warm. She seemed glad to see me and re- 
called all we had done for her nephews, the Vargas boys. 

We got up before four o'clock Wednesday morning, and 



238 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

started on oiii- way willi Imrdly more than light enough 
to see tlio road, which was very heavy. The weather was 
foggy and cloudy, with a little rain till about nine o'clock. 
We reached Los Venados, at the bottom oi" the barranca 
at eleven o'clock, had a little mole and frijolea, and con- 
tinued our journey, arriving here at five o'clock, after a 
ride of nearly- forty miles. 

We had meeting at seven o'clock and I ijreached. To- 
day I have been busy correcting copy for the next Abo- 
gado, and preached again tonight. The weather here is 
cold and foggy, and we have suffered positive discomfort. 
Last night, however, we got a charcoal fire again, and 
partially dried our bed clothes before we went to bed. 
You should have seen the steam come out of the blanket 
when I held it over the fire! Yet the boy said the bed 
clothes were not damp. 

We shall stay here till Monday, and if the weather is 
favorable by that time, we will probably go farther on 
into the Sierra, to explore the country a little, and put 
the native preacher here on the track of some extension 
of his work. He is timid about undertaking to travel over 
new roads and going to new places. . . . 



Mexico City, November 10. 
Dear Father and Mother : 

I have very strange and unexpected news to communi- 
cate to you to-day. It came yesterday evening, in the 
form of a cablegram from Bishop Warren, as the result 
of the action of the Board of Bishops. We have been so 
long in Mexico that we had begun to feel like we were 
fixtures here. The thought of transfer to another mission 
field had never crossed my mind except as a very remote 
and shadowy improbability; but it has become a very near 
and probable thing. The bishoi)s at their late meeting 



THIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 239 

unanimously agreed to request me to accept the superin- 
tendency of the South America Mission. 

Ada was out when the message came, and the instant 
I glanced at its contents, the consequences all rushed over 
me like a flood that would carry me off my feet. What 
Ada would say, how her family and you both would feel 
about it, the breaking up of ties here, Galdino, the new 
and untried experiences in that distant field, all this and 
much more flashed through my mind in an instant. 

When Ada came home a few minutes later and I broke 
the news to her, she bore it like the brave hearted woman 
she is. We have talked it all over, lying awake for hours 
last night and praying for guidance. We have looked at 
all sides of it as well as we have been able, in view of the 
necessity of an immediate reply. To every objection there 
seemed to be some ready answer which we were not at 
liberty to ignore. 

Two or three years ago it might possibly have been 
something akin to disaster for me to have been removed. 
We had so many enterprises in their first stages and I 
had the lines so fully in hand, that it would have been 
difficult to hand them over to another. Now, however, the 
case is different. Most of our property enterprises have 
been successfully carried through. All financial matters 
are in a clear state of settlement, with no pecuniary re- 
sponsibility to be borne by the Mission nor by any in- 
dividual. My books and accounts are in such condition 
that I can hand them over at any hour. 

The Mission is well developed in its organization, and 
administrative responsibility is so divided up, that one of 
us can slip out easily. Our Conference is organized, and 
no superintendent or single administrative head is needed. 
I believe a change, with infusion of new blood into this 
Mission, will probably be very beneficial. It will re- 
awaken interest in it and care for it on the part of the 



240 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

authorities, and may lead to new methods and greater 
activity and success in the prosecution of the work. 

The diflficulties and embarrassments of undertaking new 
work in an ohl field where, as I have reason to believe, 
there have been unfortunate troubles among the mission- 
aries, would have certainly prevented me from seeking 
such a change. The bishops must have had powerful rea- 
sons to induce them to agree unanimously upon so unusual 
a plan as this of transferring a missionary from one field 
to another so distant. As I do not know their reasons 
I cannot weigh them, and as a Methodist preacher, I can- 
not assume the responsibility of refusing my concurrence. 

Nearly all the bishops know me personally, and at least 
five of those present at the late meeting have had personal 
knowledge and opjiortuuity for direct observation of our 
work here. I am bound therefore to believe that they 
have taken into the account all the facts and interests at 
both ends of the line. 

In my position I would not choose the South America 
work, but I am not at liberty to refuse it. The work will 
be hard and the responsibility great, but "it is good for a 
man that he bear the yoke in his youth," and the next ten 
or fifteen years, if I am spared, will be my time for yoke 
and burden-bearing. The best I have I would give to God 
and the church. 

What we shall feel most keenly and what we fear will 
give you most pain, will be the much greater distance from 
home and the longer periods of separation from our loved 
ones. To this it is hard to find any answer except that 
the sacrifice seems to be required of us, and that we must 
seek for grace to oiler it freely. Our Father will comfort 
your hearts and ours. 

In view of all the facts involved as we see them, I have 
this morning telegraphed to Bishop Warren that we are 
ready to undertake any service the judgment of the 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 241 

bishops api)i'oves. I shall write them to-day calling their 
attention to some facts in the case, and leaving the way 
open for them to reconsider their action if they see fit. 
But so far as now appears, 1 suppose we will simply close 
up our affairs here, so as to be ready to start home im- 
mediately after Conference. 

I hope we may spend the latter part of the winter and 
the early spring with you, before setting out on our long 
journey. We will let you know all the details as soon as 
we hear more at length from New York. If we go, I 
suppose we will live either in Buenos Aires or Monte- 
video. I cannot write all that is in my heart to-day. . . . 

On November 16 another cablegram came from Bishop 
Fowler, confirming Mr. Drees's appointment to the su- 
perintendency of the South America Mission, and asking 
us to meet him at Huntsville, Ala., December 15. The 
bishop had just returned from South America, and it 
seemed very desirable, if not absolutely necessary, for us 
to see him and learn all we could of the conditions in that 
Mission, and get some idea of what awaited us there. 

During the next two weeks we disposed of our furniture 
and other articles that we could not take with us, made 
all the preparations that such a change involved, and on 
December 2, 1886, the ninth anniversary of my arrival in 
Mexico, we set out on our long journey to that distant 
part of the world that was destined to be our home for 
many years. 

The days were so few, and so many the demands in con- 
nection with final adjustments of official relations, that 
no farewell visits could Jbe made except to Puebla, Mr. 
Drees's first charge, where we were received by our dear 
friends, the Greenmans, with whom we were so closely 
related in sympathy from their first arrival in Mexico, and 
especially after the Queretaro episode. 



242 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

Many of those who were the first converts of the Mis- 
sion in Puebla were still there to bid farewell to their 
first pastor, and many were the tears that were shed. I 
confess to my full share in them, for I was greatly at- 
tached to these warm-hearted people and deeply touched 
by their evident grief at the thought of not seeing us 
again. A visit to the grave of Mi*. Luders, our ever-to-be- 
remembered friend and associate, could not have been 
forgotten or omitted. 

The missionaries and Mexican workers in general were 
not willing for us to leave without one last meeting, and 
instead of writing farewell letters, as many as could do 
so came to Mexico City and participated in the good-by 
reception which was given us by Mr. and Mrs. Butler. 
Many kind and appreciative words were spoken and 
tokens of afifection bestowed upon us. Among these last 
' were a valuable collection of Mexicana, works on the his- 
tory of Mexico, presented to Mr. Drees with the sugges- 
tion that the donors wished him not to forget, in his new 
field of labor, the country to which he had given his first 
service. 

To me were given a beautiful satin banner in the Mexi- 
can colors, with the national coat of arms handsomely 
embroidered in gold, and a bound volume of the Abogado 
Cristiano, in recognition of my help as proof reader and 
unappointed assistant editor. Of the letters received, a 
few will be given elsewhere, as recalling some of the kind 
messages which we so greatly appreciated. 

Mr. Drees's last message to the people on the last Sun- 
day evening we were in Mexico, was from Phil. 1. 27-29: 
^^Only let your manner of life 6e worthy of the gospel of 
Christ: that, ichether I come and see you, or he absent, I 
may hear of your state, that ye stand faM in one spirit, 
icith one soul striving for the faith of the gospel; and in 
nothing affrighted by the adversaries; because to you it 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 243 

hath been granted in the behalf of Christ, not only to be- 
lieve on him, but also to suffer on his behalf.'' 

It was not easy for us to leave Mexico. We were bound 
to the countrj^ and to the people by a thousand ties, and 
as we drove out the last evening to say our adieux to va- 
rious old friends who were not able to come to us, and as 
we looked for the last time on the beautiful snow-covered 
mountains which met our view in every direction, and 
which had come to be such familiar objects to us, it was 
with inexpressible regret that we turned our eyes away, 
and realized that our life and experiences in that pic- 
turesque and attractive land were a thing of the past. 



APPENDIX 

THE DREES FAMILY 

Tobias Drees, the father of Charles W., was born iu Ger- 
many, ill the Grand Duchy of Oldenberg, on Febniary 19, 
1811). When he was thirteen years ohl, the family, con- 
sisting of his grandfather, his father, with his stepmother, 
and the young children, of which Tobias was the eldest, 
emigrated to America. 

They left Bremen in a sailing vessel bound for Balti- 
more, Md., where they landed in the spring of 1832. They 
knew no English, and the strangeness of their surround- 
ings was enhanced by the presence of Negroes, the first 
they had ever seen. They at once began preparations for 
their journey West. 

Taking their goods with them in a Conestoga wagon, 
they began their trip over the mountains, reaching Pitts- 
burgh some fort}' days later. Here they remained several 
weeks, during which time Tobias served as bell boy in a 
hotel and, incidentally, learned enough English to be able 
to act as iiiterpreler for the jiarly. Alter this delay, they 
set out for Ohio, on board a flat boat ; the river being very 
low, the boat often grounded and the i)assengers, as well 
as the crew, were obliged to wade into the water to free 
the boat. 

At Cincinnati, they went ashore and drove across the 
country to Mercer County, where they settled on a small 
farm near the county seat. Saint Mary. After some 
months, the boy obtiiined his p.irents' consent to stai'l 
out into the world for himself, agreeing to send home a 
part of his wages toward the support of the family. With 

244 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 245 

his clothes tied iu a handkerchief and swung over his 
shoulder ou a stick, and his lunch wrapped in paper in 
his pocket, he set off toward Troy, O. 

When he became hungry he sat down by the roadside 
to eat his lunch and, as he sat there and dreamed of his 
future, he pledged himself to a life of uprightness and 
honesty. These good resolutions were never forgotten, 
and not only contributed to his worldly success but, as he 
grew to be an ,old man, caused him to be looked upon by 
the 3'Ounger generations as a veritable saint. 

After various experiences he apprenticed himself, at the 
age of twenty-one, to a carpenter, and in 1842 moved with 
his employer to Xenia. Up to this time he had remained 
a Roman Catholic and, as there was no Catholic church 
either in Troy or Xenia, he made the journey on horse- 
back, once every year, to Saint Mary, for the purpose of 
making confession and receiving the sacrament. 

For several months he lived in the family of his em- 
ployer. They were ardent Methodists, and prayer meet- 
ings were frequently held in their home. Tobias Drees 
was occasionally present, and was deeply impressed by 
these services. Convinced at last of the truth of the 
Protestant faith, he was finally led, not without severe 
mental struggles, to renounce Roman Catholicism, and 
united with the First Methodist Church of Xenia^ of 
which he remained a devoted and honored member during 
the rest of his life. 

One Sunday afternoon, soon after his arrival in Xenia, 
as he, in company with his employer, was walking along 
the country road south of the town, he saw a fair young 
girl across an open meadow, with a milk pail in her hand ; 
whether it was a case of love at first sight we do not know, 
but at least he never forgot that first vision, and two 
years later, this young woman, Maria Hypes, became his 
wife. 



24G THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO I 

Her parents were Henry Hypes and Sarah Wright 
Hypes. The Hypes as well as Wright family removed 
from Fincastle, Va., to Xenia, O., in 1811. Their daugh- 
ter, Maria, was born April 25, 1825. On December 31, 
1840, she became the wife of Tobias Drees. 

Mrs. Drees was a most capable woman, of usual intel- 
ligence, and great force of character. The modest home 
over which she at first presided was, from the beginning, 
a hospitable one, and later on, as their worldly goods in- 
creased, their home became the headquarters of the Meth- 
odist ministers who visited Xenia. A list of their guests 
would include the names of practically all the notable 
ministers of southern Ohio, and all the bishops of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church of that generation. 

Mrs. Drees's generous nature is well illustrated by the 
following incident: While her children were still small, 
Ler mother, now a widow and in failing health, together 
with an aged aunt, became members of the household. A 
few months later, a carriage one day stopped at the door 
and deposited an old lady, a former neighbor. As Mrs. 
Drees came forward to meet her, she exclaimed: "Maria, 
you told me that if I ever wanted a home I could come 
to you," and, pointing to her baggage, she added, "and 
I've come." From that day until her death she remained 
as one of the family, cared for and nursed in illness with 
all sympathy and good will. 

Of such noble-hearted parents, Charles W. Drees was 
born, September 13, 1851, their second child and eldest 
son. 

A striking incident, characteristic of the boy, occurred 
when he was not yet twelve years of age. He and his elder 
sister were almut lo make a visit to a friend living in the 
country some distance from Xenia, a visit to which he 
had looked forwanl willi lively anticipation and great 
pleasure. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 247 

They took the train and arrived at the station where 
they were to wait for the carriage of their friend. During 
this interval, he received a strong impression, amounting 
to a conviction, that he was needed at home and must re- 
turn at once. In spite of his own inclination and the 
natural remonstrances of his sister, he took the first train 
home. 

On his arrival, a friend of the family, happening to see 
him, asked how his father was. Seeing that the boy knew 
nothing of the circumstances, he told him of a serious ac- 
cident that his father had met with, over which the friend 
was much troubled. On reaching home, the little fellow 
found that his mother had, indeed, sore need of him, as 
she was alone in the house at the time, with the care of a 
young babe as well as her injured husband, and needed 
some willing feet to do her bidding. 

It is a trivial incident, yet it throws light upon the 
growing character of the boy, so dependable in after life, 
who would give up a long anticipated pleasure because, 
in the language of early Methodism, "it was borne in upon 
him" that he was needed at home. 

In the winter of 1863 a great revival broke out in Xenia, 
one of those spontaneous movements that undoubtedly 
owe their origin to the prayers of some of God's saints. It 
was in this revival that born of the Spirit which searches 
and vivifies even the heart of a child, a ray of light illu- 
mined him, and he then experienced for the first time the 
life of God in his soul. 

His conversion at this early age, eleven years, deter- 
mined his future and affected all his after life. In a 
letter, written to a favorite uncle at this time, he tells 
how he then felt the call to preach, and added : "If I ever 
do preach, my first text shall be : Quench not the Spirit." 
Seven years afterward he did, in effect, preach his first 
sermon from these words : "Quench not the Holy Spirit." 



248 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

At (lie Xciiiii Iii^'li scliool tlievcjiiug student passed four 
busy je;irs. riolcssoi- Ormsby was superiutendent of the 
school (liiriiiji; thai time, l»u( later went to Enf^laiul and 
took up Ills residence in London. Here, long years after- 
ward, teachei' and iiu|>il met once more, and passed some 
happy hours together, talking over old days in Xenia, and 
the varied experiences which life had brought to each of 
them. 

Alter gradmition from tlie high school, he, in company 
with several fellow pujiils who aspired to a college course, 
was permitted by the school board to take a year of post- 
graduate study, fitting them to enter the sophomore class. 
His chosen college was the Ohio ^Vesleyau University at 
Delaware, O., in which he was matriculated in September, 
18G8, graduating therefrom in June, 1871. 

COLLEGE LIFE 

A college friend sends these reminiscences of their 
college days. 

Many years ago 1 left my home in Cincinnati to go to 
college. I was a boy of eighteen and that was almost my 
first journey away Ironi home. I had been a school boy 
all my life in my nnlive cily, and li;id just graduated at the 
Woodward High School. The college to which I was go- 
ing was located in Dehiware. ()., a hundred and twenty- 
five miles north of Cincinnnii, and twenty-five north of 
Colundtus, the State cai)ilal. 

My home lijid ;il\v;iys been in the largest city of my na- 
tive Stale, and I he transition to a (piiel little college town 
was very great. The college was the Ohio NVesleyan Uni- 
versity, :ind \\:is I hen, as it is to-day, one of the leading 
educational inslilntions in Melliodism. The president 
was Dr. Urederic k Meriick, a man whose godly life made 
a [M'linanent im|iit'ssion upon every student. 



THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 249 

Next to him in position and influence was Dr. L. D. 
McCabe, white-haired even then, but full of the eloquence 
and fire of youth. There were also a number of other 
eflScient teachers. To me, college life was entering upon a 
new world. In the city school I had been accustomed to 
a life of mechanical routine and the severest discipline, 
and the life at college I found very different. Three hun- 
dred young men, all away from home, were drawn together 
in a manner that was at once intimate and enjoyable. 

The American Civil War had just closed, and a number 
of men who had been soldiers in that great struggle had 
entered the college to complete their education. The con- 
trast between them, in their maturity, and myself and the 
body of youthful students was very great. Many of the 
students of that day later became very distinguished men, 
one reaching the high office of Vice-President of the United 
States ; others became governors of great commonwealths, 
senators, judges, pastors, bishops, and many achieved dis- 
tinction in realms of science, letters, and commerce. 

My earliest recollections are associated with a fair- 
haired, blue-eyed boy, a year younger than myself, whose 
name was Charles W. Drees. We were both expecting to 
enter the Christian ministry, and were congenial in all 
our tastes. It happened also that I was brought into a 
specially intimate relation to him, through becoming a 
member of the same Greek letter secret fraternity. After 
all these years, it seems only last night that in a darkened 
room, in a cottage home in this college town, Charley 
Drees was explaining the mystical meaning of the letters 
on the jeweled fraternity pin which I was to wear. 

Three happy years were passed together. Charley was 
one of the most popular boys in the college, good natured, 
full of humor and a universal favorite with both profes- 
sors and students. He was a thorough student and al- 
ways mastered every subject. We graduated the same 



250 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

year and received our diplomas as Bachelors of Arts on 
the same summer morning in the year 1871. Later we 
entered the School of Theology of Boston University and 
both graduated from that institution. Then we separated 
to different fields of labor, and at last after many years, 
through his instrumentality, I was invited to become 
pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Buenos 
Ayres. 

Of the delightful years of fellowship I have had with 
him since, it is not my purpose now to speak, these recol- 
lections being limited to our college days. 

The following letter, written while in college, only a 
few weeks before commencement, gives a very clear idea 
of his views at that time. 

Ohio Wesleyan University, 

^ „ Delaware, O., May 1, 1871. 

Dear Father: ' ' '' ' 

I received by the noon mail a letter which determined 
me to write to you upon a subject which has a very im- 
portant bearing upon my future. I begin to feel that it 
is important for me to mark out definitely what course 
I shall pursue immediately after leaving college, and of 
course you will have a great influence in determining what 
that course shall be. 

1 long ago decided that Cod called me to the work of 
preaching the gospel, and ever since I have been in college 
1 have been shaping my studies with that end in view. 
Now that I am so near the close of my college course I 
feel more than ever the necessity for the most complete 
])reparation for the work of the ministry that the ad- 
vantages of our day afford in the way of theological 
schools as well as colleges. Time was when the Methodist 
preacher, with nothing but his Bible and the knowledge 
he could gain by his own unaided efforts, could attain 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 251 

the very highest success in persuading the people and in 
fighting with error. 

But your own memory will convince you that there 
has been a very great change, and it is even now true and 
will, in the years to come, be still more manifestly true, 
that the most powerful men for good in the church are, 
and will be, those who have obtained the most thorough 
preparation for the work to which the Master calls them. 

Looking at it in this light, I cannot feel that I should 
do right to settle down in the ministry without availing 
myself of the advantage of attending one of the theological 
schools. I expect to preach Christ, not for my own fame 
and worldly profit, but I believe I can conscientiously say, 
only for the sake of doing good. With this as my only 
object I cannot help feeling it to be my duty to arm my- 
self fully before going into the battle of life. 

Mother has probably told you of my desire to go to the 
Boston Theological School, and I have now tried to tell 
you my reasons for so desiring. But you must not think 
that I have depended alone on my own judgment in com- 
ing to this conclusion. I have too little confidence in my 
own judgment for that. I have asked advice from Uncle 
Will, and from some members of the faculty here, and 
they have all not only confirmed but also greatly strength- 
ened me in my inclination. 

Three courses seem to be open to me. The first is to 
enter the Conference next fall without going to a theolog- 
ical school. This would of course cut off all prospect of 
ray ever being able to do so, for I could never hope to save 
enough money in the itinerant work to pay my expenses 
there. So that, in my present state of mind, I cannot 
enter upon that course. The choice then lies between the 
other two. Circumstances must of necessity be a factor 
in coming to a decision, 
r The first of these is to go to Boston next year. This of 



252 THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

course Jepends upon yonv ability to advance me the 
money ft) pay my expenses, A\iiich would be in the aggre- 
gate $250 or |275 per year, that is, during term time 
which is about nine mouths. This would include cloth- 
ing, traveling expenses, etc. It may be that it will be 
necessary for me to attend three years, but it is likely that 
I would be able to complete the course in two years. I 
have felt all along during my college course that I am 
a very heavy burden to you, and it has not been an agree- 
able feeling by any means. It is only with hesitation that 
I can bring myself to ask you to assist me or rather sup- 
port me any further; for not only is it unpleasant for me 
to be any longer a burden to you, but if I felt that it would 
much embarrass you, or still more if I knew tliat it would 
prevent the other boys receiving just as good an education 
as I, I would feel that I was doing wrong if I accepted 
it at your hands. I feel that it would be greatly to my 
advantage to go to Boston next year, but if your affairs 
are such that you cannot do it without embarrassment, I 
will gladly withdraw my request. I hope you will think 
of the matter and let me know, as soon as you can de- 
termine it, just what I may expect. 

If your decision should indicate that it would be best, 
I will take the third course. This is to obtain a position 
as teacher where I could earn money enough to carry me 
through the theological school. This brings me to the 
subject of the letter which I spoke of in the first place. 
This letter is from a friend of mine in Louisiana, in which 
he states that he can procure me a situation as teacher in 
the public school of some town in that State, at a salary 
of one hundred dollars a month, equivalent to a tliousand 
dollars a year, if their school year is ten months. As the 
State is probably pretty thoroughly reconstructed, I be- 
lieve I could go there with i>erfect safety; and in this way 
in tw(», ()!-a1 most three years, 1 could save money enough 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 253 

to carry me through the Boston school. If I took this 
last plan, I should join the Louisiana Conference, teach- 
ing during the week, and doing missionary work on Sun- 
day, This is now the plan of our church in that State. I 
can adjust myself easily to this work. 

I submit all these plans to you, and hope to hear soon 
of your decision with regard to them. 

Your loving son, 

C. W. Drees. 

That his parents were in hearty sympathy with his as- 
pirations, and willing to help in every way to further his 
plans for carrying them out, is evidenced by the fact that 
he entered upon his studies in the theological school in 
Boston the following year. His first letter after his ar- 
rival is dated September 11, 1871. 

Dear Mother : 

As nearly as possible, according to promise, I sit down 
this afternoon to tell you of our journey. After getting 
upon the train Thursday night, we found not only John 
Van Cleve, but also Davis Clark, thus adding another to 
our company. The cars were very much crowded and 
some of our fellow travelers were rather noisy, so that 
what with crowding and noise, I slept scarcely any all 
night. 

Waiting about an hour at Columbus, we proceeded to 
Pittsburgh, arriving there too late to make connections, 
and discovering that we should have to wait five long 
hours, till six o'clock. You may imagine this made me 
feel rather uncomfortable, as I knew that it would dis- 
arrange all our plans and put us into Boston after night. 
Riding all night in a full car, catching now and then an 
unsatisfactory nap, we arrived in the city of Brotherly 
Love about three quarters of an hour behind time. Four 



254 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

of our party succeeded in juin])iiij; upon the train for New 
York after it had be^un to move. Our baggage and one 
of our party were left behind, but came on after u.s in a 
special train. After jolting along on the rough Camden 
and Amboy road all the morning, we got into New I'ork 
about noon. Here we were swindled by New York hack- 
men to the amount of one dollar! 

Hurrying from the ferry to the New Haven depot, we 
got there just in time for the train. Brother Higgins, 
having his baggage checked through, got on the train and 
went on, Cheney went over to Brooklyn to stay over Sab- 
bat h. \'an Cleve and I had to wait three hours till Clark 
and our baggage should come. Finally our eyes were 
cheered by Clark's appearance and, hastily checking our 
baggage, we left New Y'ork at three o'clock. We sup- 
posed Brother Higgins would reach Boston in advance 
of us; but when we came to Springfield, he walked into 
our car and smilingly told us that he had missed connec- 
tion and had been forced to wait for us there, A re- 
united party, we plunged on in the darkness till we 
reached here, after midnight. 

Leaving the depot we started to walk, we scarcely 
knew whither. Our steps were, I believe, providentially 
directed, for we went by the shortest route directly to the 
door of the seminary, when neither of us knew in the 
slightest measure how to find it. We rang the night bell, 
but could not rouse anyone. Walking on about a square, 
we stumbled upon the Tremont House, where we stayed 
all night and to breakfast, for which we paid the exor- 
bitant price of !$2.7r)! 

I am as yet very much unsettled, hut hope to be and 
feel more at home here shortly. 

With nnicli love, 

Your son, 

Charley. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 255 

The next letter is written September 13 to his mother : 

The former treatise wrote I unto thee, O best of 
mothers ! to advise you briefly of my journey — some of its 
mishaps and catastrophes— and finally of its conclusion. 
When I had finished that letter a great many things came 
up in my mind that I thought I ought to have written, 
but I consoled myself with the thought that I would soon 
write again, and remember to include them. 

Since Sunday morning I have been taking my meals at 
a restaurant just across the street, at the rate of from 
eighteen to thirty-five cents per meal. However, in an 
hour or two, I shall test the virtues of a seminary club 
arrangement, as it begins operations with this evening's 
supper. I have some misgivings with regard to this club 
arrangement^ but I suppose they will prove groundless. 

I have no doubt you will like to know something about 
my room, etc. I live in a room in the fourth story of a 
fine stone front building on Bromfield Street, in the Hub 
of the universe. This room of mine is of rather a peculiar 
shape, being between seven and eight feet wide, by about 
twenty-five feet long. So you see when I want to take a 
long walk in one direction, I can do so without leaving my 
room. Indeed, it is quite a promenade from end to end 
of it. Mine is one of three rooms made by running two 
partitions through a room which was originally almost 
square. In one end is a large window reaching almost 
entirely across it, in the seat of which I am now writing. 
At the other end is a door leading into a lobby which 
opens into the main corridor. 

The furniture of the room is as follows, namely : 1 iron 
bedstead; 1 dilapidated washstand; 1 looking glass; 2 
rickety chairs ; 2 small leaved tables ; 2 book shelves. In 
addition to these, there is an extemporized clothes press, 
made by putting up two boards in the corner with a strip, 
with four double hooks inside, and chintz curtains hang- 



256 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

ing in front to keep out the dust. The steam register is 
in one corner near the window. We find furnished for the 
bed a mattre.ss, by no means .soft, two pillows of chicken 
feathers, two thin comforts, and a bedspread. 

I must not forget to mention in this connection "sister" 
Blye, the matron. She is an ''ancient maiden lady," who 
has a mission in the world. She has "been matron to the 
seminary for five years, and seems well adapted to the 
position. She received us very kindly hist Sunday morn- 
ing, made us feel at home, and as our trunks had not 
arrived, furnished us bed linen and towels from her own 
store until ours came. 

The seminary began its session this morning with good 
attendance. The professors are very pleasant, kind men, 
rather younger than T expected to find them. The students 
are all very friendh' and sociable, and I expect, before the 
year shall have expired, to have formed very many pleas- 
ant associations and to have gained many new and lasting 
friends. 

I have just returned from my first meal at the seminary 
club. We had cold bread, warm bread, butter and mo- 
lasses, with tea or water to drink, and pears for dessert. 
I shall quit tea as it is charged extra for. 

(To his father) 

Boston, October 14, 1871. 
Mv DEAR Father: 

I iuldress this letter to you because 1 want to write 

more particularly nbont our seminary than I have yet 

done. I have written before of our location right in the 

business center of the city, and of our Ix'ing within a few 

minutes' walk of the places of greatest interest. I don't 

know whether f have writteTi i)articularly about our 

Itoardiiig arraiigeiiients. All tlie students are formed into 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 257 

a club, electing, besides other suitable officers, a commis- 
sary, who does the buying, and a treasurer who manages 
the finances. Provisions are bought in quantities, and 
several women are hired to attend to the cooking. Assess- 
ments are made at the close of each month, covering the 
exact cost. This amount is divided on the basis of the 
number of meals each student has taken, three or more 
absences occurring in succession being deducted. The 
assessment for the first month was made last Wednesday, 
and was twelve cents per meal. My bill for the month 
was 110.31. For this amount we obtain a very good board, 
having enough variety to make it acceptable. Washing 
is done at cost. 

W^e come now to the seminary proper. There are four 
regular chairs of instruction. Systematic Theology, filled 
by W. F. Warren, D.D. ; Historical Theology, Dr. Lati- 
mer; Exegetical Theology, Dr. Lindsey; and Practical 
Theology, Dr. Townsend. Besides these, there are some 
other provisions made for the study of other branches, 
such as German. The instruction in all the regular de- 
partments is wholly by lectures, with the exception of 
Dr. Lindsey's department, which includes Hebrew and 
Greek. 

The student is required to take note of these lectures; 
in some, to take every word that falls from the lips of the 
professor, and in others, simply to note the principal 
points ; but in every case, he is expected to take sufficient 
notes to give him a thorough basis for his knowledge of 
the subject treated of. Text books are used only by way 
of reference, and are not brought into requisition in any 
case in the lecture room. While this method, in many 
respects, makes the student's work more laborious, it still 
possesses many advantages over the old method. 

In the department of Systematic Theology, our work 
thus far has been to gain a general view of theological 



258 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

study, with its branches and related sciences introductory 
to the study of the particular departments. In Historical 
Theology, we have taken a general view of the department, 
and spent ten lectures on the life of Jesus. In Exegetical 
Theology, Hebrew grammar, and Greek Testament, and in 
Practical Theology, we are in the preparatory course of 
lectures; each student is required to prepare a thesis or 
conversation on a topic in sacred rhetoric, and once a 
week to present a report and criticism of the sermon he 
heard the preceding Sabbath. In Professor Latimer's de- 
partment, also, each student is assigned a topic in sacred 
history, to work up independently. This is the present 
work of the class to which I belong. Dr. Warren is also 
giving us a very interesting course of lectures on Chris- 
tian Missions. 

Since I have been here, I have been convinced more 
fully than ever that I would have suffered an almost irrep- 
arable loss had T postpoiied coming till next week. Our 
professors are all comparatively young men, just the men 
for their positions, and more than that, are very earnest 
and active in their piety and zeal for the Master's cause. 
We have already had one course of lectures extraordinary 
before the seminary by Dr. Wentworth, on China. The 
next course comes the week after Thanksgiving, by Dr. 
Samuel Harris, of the Yale Divinity School. These 
courses are daily lectures at twelve o'clock, in Wesleyan 
Association Hall, provided specinlly for the students. 
Such is a general view of the intellectual work laid out 
for the student; but it is not all. 

I inclose a copy of the rules of the institution, from 
which you will see that mere professional study and in- 
tellectual qualifications are regarded here as secondary, 
in real importance, to a true ])roparati()n for the work of 
the ministry, to the cultivation of tliose graces which 
manifest themselves in piety toward God and love for the 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 259 

souls for whom Christ died. When I sny that in the work- 
ing of the seminary, this is not a lifeless theory, but a 
living truth enforced each day, by prayer, precept, and 
example, I mean all that those words can convey. 

We have now about eighty students, of whom one third 
are absent each Sabbath, preaching all through this por- 
tion of the State. T am told that Methodism is extending 
her borders very rapidly here, that new charges are 
springing up in considerable numbers and this largely 
through the influence of the seminary. 

I write to-day, as I am to go out of the city at four 
o'clock, to spend the Sabbath at West Chelmsford, thirty 
or forty miles from here. 

Give my love to all, and write soon to your affectionate 

' Charles W. Drees, 

The first public event of special importance occurring 
at the close of this school year, was the great Peace 
Jubilee, celebrated in Boston in the month of June, 1872, 
of which he gives a brief account : 

Boston, June 21, 1872. 
My dear Mother : 

When I last wrote on Friday, I meant surely to do so 
again in a very few days, but Monday brought all the 
work, excitement, and weariness of the Jubilee, so that 
my time during the day has been greatly occupied, and 
at night I have been so weary that a week has gone by 
and as yet no letter written. I shall be heartily glad 
when the Jubilee is over, for while I enjoy it immensely, 
I find it very wearing, and long to settle quietly down to 
my work. 

I have been chorus usher every afternoon this week 
from 2 to 7 p. m. Two days I have spent the whole time 
from half past eight in the morning till seven at night at 



260 THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

the Coliseuiu, on luy feet nearly all the lime, running here 
and there to keep the singers in order, having trouble 
with refractory ones now and then, and being obliged to 
suniniou a policeman to take in hand some violent man or 
woman. Persons of all kinds, with every imaginable com- 
plaint and question come, thinking that the usher ought 
to be able to know every thing, manage every thing, and 
clear up every difficulty. Imagine fifty or sixty ushers 
to twenty thousand people and you can form some con- 
ception of what a task it was. Later I will write some- 
thing of the Jubilee, now I can only say that the music 
is grand, soul-stirring, and altogether indescribable in 
its effects. 

The first thing on Monday's program was Old Hundred, 
to the hymn, ''From all that dwell below the skies." Men 
and women were aflfected to tears; I never experienced 
such an elevating sensation. Every nerve seemed to 
quiver as the grand old hymn rolled up from twenty 
thousand human voices, the thousand tongued orchestra, 
the immense organ, and the booming cannon. 

(A week later) 

The Peace Jubilee still continues, and is, of course, 
the all-absorbing object of thought and interest. Grant 
was present on Tuesday afternoon, and for the first and 
only time, the vast Coliseum was crowded to its utmost 
capacity ; approximately seventy thousand people were 
in the building. To-day it is understood that the would- 
be President, Horace dret^ley, honors the Jubilee with his 
presence. I doubt whether he will be the occasion of 
much enthusiasm. To-morrow will be Gilmore's benefit. 

The chief and universal enthusiasm of the multitude 
centers about Madanie Leutner, the German Prima Donna, 
the uni\ersal vei'dict places lier far aliead of Nilsson or 
Parepa Rosa. Her powers of vocalization are simply mar- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 261 

velous, filliug the auditorium, so that every note can be 
heard in the most distant portions; she reaches the 
highest notes with the greatest apparent ease. As to 
military band music, the French band seems to carry the 
day; but enough of the Jubilee for this time. 

(To his mother, from Boston, on his coming of age) 
My dear Mother : 

I feel as though I ought to write a letter home to-night. 
It is not, however, so much this feeling of obligation which 
leads me to do so, as the feeling that it will really do my 
heart good to talk to you a little on paper. I wish, if it 
might be, that I could see your face and talk to you by 
word of mouth ; but as that is impossible, I can only call 
up your face and, in imagination, keep it before me while 
writing. 

As you no doubt remember, to-day is my birthday; I 
am twenty-one to-day. This date serves to remind me 
strongly of the great goodness God has shown me in a 
thousand ways. My feeling to-night, as I stand upon the 
dividing ridge between youth and manhood, is one of pro- 
found gratitude and praise to God, to whom I offer a re- 
neAved consecration of my whole being. I do rejoice that, 
poor and unworthy as the offering is, he yet accepts it 
and fills me with his love ; praise him forever ! 

We have at last passed through the opening exercises of 
the new school year, my second in the seminary. Wednes- 
day morning came the love feast, and the enrollment of 
new students; in the afternoon the graduating exercises 
of last year's class, and the baccalaureate address. Thurs- 
day the alumni excursion to Plymouth Rock, and in the 
evening the address by Dr. Briggs, which highly delighted 
the audience. He seemed to remember me, and talked 
very pleasantly. 

This morning the long expected examinations took 



262 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

place; they passed without serious damage to any one. 
On Monday real serious work will begin. Four of my 
former fellow students from Delaware have arrived. 

My chum for this year is to be Brother Leseman ; he will 
be away every week from Friday till Monday, a feature 
of the case which I very much approve, since during that 
time I shall have sole possession of the room. 

Trusting that I shall hear from you soon, and with 
very much love. Your son, 

C. W. Drees. 

Boston, October 31, 1872. 
My dear Mother: 

Several days have passed beyond my usual time for 
writing. I cannot describe how rapidly the time passes. 
At the end of the week I can hardly recall what has been 
done as it passed ; possibly the reason is that I am so 
busily occupied and so happy in my work. Not that many 
little matters do not try and perplex me, but among them 
all I find a sure refuge aud strong consolation in my 
Saviour. 

We have had some rain for the last two weeks, and it 
is still continuing, but on the whole, the autumn has been 
delightful, with its clear cool days, so invigorating. Now 
winter begins to nuike itself felt. Frost has stripped the 
trees on the Common; the plank walks are being laid, 
houses fortified against the approaching cold, etc. 

Ever}' fine morning a number of us i)lay football for an 
hour on the public playground in the Common; our con- 
tests are very exciting, and we find the exercise very bene- 
ficial to circulation and digestion, though accompanied by 
the inevitable tired limbs, sore joints and so on. 

No doubt you have heard of the ravages of the epi- 
zooty or horse distemjier in this city. So many of the 
horses are sick, that last Sabbath no horse cars, nor in- 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 263 

deed scarcely a horse was to be seen; naturally this made 
the day a very quiet one. I wish more were like them in 
this particular. On Monday, as few horses were out, 
many amusing expedients were resorted to for necessary 
transportation ; ox teams were seen, and men drew 
wagons; even some horse cars were drawn over from 
South Boston by men, the employees of the company. 
Now, however, the horses are gradually recovering, and 
soon this, which strikes me as almost an Egyptian plague, 
will be forgotten. 

Political excitement runs high; last night witnessed a 
magnificent torch light procession, several miles in length, 
a Grant and Wilson demonstration. 

John B. Gough delivered one of his characteristic lec- 
tures to-night; subject, ''Circumstances." . . . 

Boston, November 12, 1872. 
My dear Mother : 

Before this you will have seen some account of the 
great fire which broke out here Saturday evening. It has 
been a fearful calamity, the losses of which cannot now 
be estimated; the very heart of the city is one mass of 
ruins. Probably no other area of equal size in any part 
of the town could be burned, where the losses would, in 
any degree, approximate the actual losses by this fire. 
Nearly all the wholesale houses have been destroyed; 
buildings of granite structure that one would think could 
have defied any combination of the elements; but the 
breath of fire enveloped them, and they are gone. 

All along Washington Street the fire raged at its 
height, and came within half a square of our building; 
for some hours it seemed as if we, too, were to be involved 
in the catastrophe, so, about one o'clock Sunday morning, 
the students began hastily moving their effects over to 
the Common. The scene that ensued is not easily de- 



264 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

scribi'd : Hunks, luiiiiliire, buoks lied up in bed-elotliiiij^, 
boxes, barrels, mattresses, all had to be carried down three 
flights of stairs, jdaeed in wajj^ons, which we were for- 
tunate enough to secure, and hauled to the place of de- 
posit. There were fifteen or twenty large wagon loads, 
perhajts more. Two thirds of the students being absent 
at their fc>uudaj's engagements, those of us that were here 
had to move their property too; I wonder how it was all 
accompli.shed ! During the rest of the night and all day 
Sunday, we had to mount guard over our goods, that they 
might not be stolen. A friend or two helped me to carry 
my books, tied u]> in sheets and quilts, to the house of an 
acquaintance on Temple Street, who had kindly asked me 
to go there in case of necessity. 

Late Sunday afternoon, the danger appearing to be 
over, began Ihe work of bringing back our goods, and by 
sundown the huge mass of chattels lay piled up in dire 
confusion in (he hall on the ground floor of the building. 
Sunday night we appointed a watch, and slept with 
the possibility of being awaked at any moment, to escape 
once more from the flames. The fire did break out afresli 
about midnight, but the danger passed by. I can explain 
our escape in no other way than by a direct interposition 
of Providence; for no hand could have stayed the flames 
at Washington Street. Had they crossed we must have 
been burned out. 

Yesterday was another day of hard work; today I am 
sore in every joint, and hardly able to move about. The 
expenses of the fire to me will be very small, perhaps two 
dollars; besides wliicli I shall i)robably have to buy a new 
pair of j)ants. 

With mucli love, and gratitude to God for my present 
safety, I am. dear mother, 

Affectionately your son, 

C. W. D. 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 265 

December 7. 

The Thanksgiving recess has passed away pleasantly. 
Early in the morning we played football on the Common ; 
at 10..'>0 a (tended the annual Methodist love feast in Broni- 
field Street Church; took dinner and spent most of the 
afternoon at the house of a friend in Chester Park, and in 
the evening heard William Morley Punshon lecture. The 
annual love feast, held on Thanksgiving, is an institution 
long established here; the meeting this year was a very 
profitable one. The subject of Mr. Punshon's lecture was 
"The Men of the Mayflower," the finest lecture I have yet 
heard on a Boston platform. It abounded in periods 
whose eloquence one seldom hears equaled; there were 
some home thrusts of evangelical truth, especially appro- 
priate to a Boston audience. It is hoped they will bear 
some fruit. 

Such was my Thanksgiving day as to its outward en- 
joyments; the day, however, brought with it causes and 
sources of a deeper joy than could spring from these out- 
ward surroundings. My heart was filled with thanks- 
giving to my heavenly Father for his goodness to me 
during the year ; for the great changes in my religious ex- 
perience earlj^ in the year, when I was enabled to give up 
all for Christ and, in simple trust, begin to realize the 
fullness of Jesus' love ; for the fulfillment to me, as I have 
by faith accepted them, of the "exceeding great and pre- 
cious promises'' ; for the gift of the Comforter, to work 
out in me the Father's will, and lead me in the right way. 
To these causes, let me add that of God's goodness in the 
summer, which, beginning with what seemed hardness, 
has worked out my very great spiritual good ; and thank- 
fulness for the patience of my father and mother, whose 
kindness has jn'ovided me with all things needful. You 
see what a catalogue of mercies has been mine. They 
make me feel my unworthiness, and the obligation to 



266 TIIIKTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

yield myself aud my all to the service and the will of 
God. . .' . 

(Id March of the following year, 1873, he writes) 
Miss Sarah Smiley, the i>reacher, has been in the city 
this week, preaching every night in the Warren Avenue 
Baptist rimrch. A prophet of the Lord she certainly is. 
Her manner is modest, diguilied, and womanly; her voice 
sweet and musical; her teaching clear, simple, and won- 
derful in its insight into the Scriptures. Great power 
attends her preaching, and has led many into abiding 
union with Chri.st. Perhaps from what I say, you will 
think me a convert to woman's preaching. Well, I do 
not think that it can or ever will be general, nor perhaps 
is it desirable; but when the Lord does raise up women 
such as these, and sends them out to preach, the church 
has no right to frown upon them because they are women. 
The Head of the church surely is able to order all this in 
wisdom ! 

Our students not regularly eniployed have organized 
into bands for mission work, in the city and vicinity. 
Last Wednesday, the one with which I am connected went 
to a little place in the suburbs, where we had an excel- 
lent meeting; so good was it that we expect to return to- 
morrow, confident of the Lord's blessing. 

„ Boston, April 7, 1873. 

My deah Father: 

I write this morning to ask yonr advice in a matter of 
some importance to me and which I think will be of no 
little interest to you and mother. It is in regard to my 
taking a charge for the year intervening between the 
present and ilie lime of my graduation next spring. 

I have lu-eached liie last two Sundays at North Easton, 
under the direction of the presiding elder. The place was 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 267 

left to be supplied at the late session of the Providence 
Conference. The people all seem very anxious to have me 
remain with them for the year, and now the responsibility 
is thrown upon me to decide what I must do. I desire to 
do just what is my Master's will in the matter, and I 
think you will concur in that. I feel, however, that be- 
fore pledging myself in any way, I must tell you about 
it, and ask how you feel with regard to it. I suppose you 
have all been expecting me to be at home this summer. 
You can hardly have been looking forward to it with the 
same degree of pleasure that I have. It will be a little 
hard for me to lay aside so suddenly all my anticipations 
of a long visit home, and yet, if that is the path of duty, 
I must follow it. 

I have often thought about preaching next year, and 
while it will add a good deal to my work and require some 
sacrifices on my part, yet there are some good reasons 
why I should accept work should an opportunity offer. 
It would probably enable me to meet and, by God's help, 
to conquer some difficulties^ which I must meet sooner or 
later. It would give me some practical experience, which 
will be of benefit to me when I enter Conference. It will 
save three months' time for the Master. For, if I spend 
this summer at home, I will also be compelled (not un- 
willingly, to be sure) to spend next summer in compara- 
tive inactivity. 

If, however, I spend this summer in work, I will still 
have one long vacation before Conference time, to spend 
at home next summer. So, by taking this work, I will 
save all this summer. I can also have a vacation of two 
or three Sabbaths in July when I can go home, if you 
want me to. 

As to the pecuniary aspect of the case, I hardly feel 
like speaking of it, for I know you will not let that 
influence you a great deal. My salary will be at least 



268 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

$400, and perhaps .^500, enough to pay all necessary ex- 
penses. 

These are the chief things that influence ray own mind, 
and now I shall withhold my decision till I hear from 
you. Let me hear from you as soon as possible. 

His parents gave their hearty ai)proval to this plan, 
and he was at once installed as pastor of this charge, con- 
tinuing with the care of it until he left the seminary, the 
following Aj>ril. In July he made a brief visit home, re- 
turning by way of Landisville, where a camp meeting was 
being held, and spending a day or two there. 

North Eastox, August 4, 1873. 

I wrote you a note from Landisville, telling of my safe 
arrival and kind reception. To my surprise, I met there 
half a dozen or more friends and acquaintances from New 
England, among them Amanda Smith, who came up to 
shake hands with me at the close of the early morning 
meeting. She is not going to Ihe camp meeting of the 
colored people at Xenia, as there is some uncertainty of 
its continuance for the present. I attended meetings all 
day Wednesday. Dr. and Mrs. Lowry gave me an invita- 
tion to sleep in their tent that night, which I did, occupy- 
ing it in company with John Bent, of Boston, and Rev. 
Isaac M. See, a Presbyterian clergA'man from New Jersey, 

Next morning, nolwithslanding j)ressing invitations to 
remain, it seemed better to continue my journey, so I 
took the train at ten o'clock, and at night, the Fall River 
boat for Boston. With a blanket and mattress on the 
upper deck I slept soundly, and reached the seminary in 
the nioi'iiing, coming on ont here in the afternoon. On 
Saturday 1 was greatly helped of (Jod in j>rei)aring a 
sermon, and on Sunday in jtreaching it, from Rev. 22. 17, 
but fear it may have been too long. Should I ever have a 
wife, I hope she can and will criticize me and help me to 



THlIiTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 269 

correct iiiid keep out of bad habits; I feel the need of a 
judicious Censor. . . . 

(To his mother) 

September 15, 1873. 

I am once more ensconced in my old room and fully 
engaged in the work of the seminary. It is likely that 
Sunday work, together with school duties, will give me 
all I can do and more. There is much that is exciting in 
the reopening of the seminary; meeting with old class- 
mates after months of seiiaratiou, and listening to what 
each has to relate of interest in his vacation, becoming 
acquainted with new students, the greetings of professors, 
the assignment of work, and entrance upon new duties, 
which open up every day unexplored regions that invite 
our willing feet. 

The thought that this is my senior year brings into 
prominence the near future, still so shadowy and un- 
certain. 

Saturday was my twenty-second birthday, of which 
you will not have been unmindful, but I shall not indulge 
here in any of those reflections so natural in connection 
with such epochs, but will only say that I am hoping for 
strength and vigor for what awaits me. . . . 

In October he writes : Our class is now having drill ex- 
ercises with Professor Monroe, the head of the School of 
Oratory; we go into the Bromfield Street Church, and at 
each recitation some member of the class delivers a pre- 
pared address, on some topic related to church work. 
This is then subjected to the criticism of the class, of Pro- 
fessor Townsend, and of Professor Monroe, Avhich is quite 
an ordeal to the speaker. My turn came this afternoon. 
1 should much prefer to preach before a full audience than 
to these twenty young men and their professors, who are 



L'TO THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

iiiaiUiiij^ every tone, and accent, and gesture for the ex- 
press purpose of dissecting them. However, I came off 
better than I expected, and feel that the ordeal did me 
good. . . . 

(To his father) 

March 7, 187-4. 
Next Friday our examinations occur, after which I 
shall have finished my connection with the seminary. 
Naturally, I think much of my future work and wonder 
where it will be, for there is much uncertainty about it as 
yet. There are some intimations of an appointment to the 
Mexico Mission, growinji out of the fact that I studied 
Spanish last year with others, whose names were sent to 
the Mission Rooms. I pray, and ask youi- prayers, for 
guidance in finding the right place and work for the 
Master. . . . 

,, „ Boston, March 18. 

Mv DEAR Parents: 

You will remember a rumor I mentioned in my last 
letter that I might be apjiointed to Mexico. Since then 
the matter has taken more definite shape, and the ques- 
tion is now to be decided whether or not I will go. Per- 
haps I ought to give you a histor}' of the way in which 
this has come to pass. When the Spanish class was 
formed, eighteen months ago, I felt a desire to join it, 
though I had no definite intention of becoming a mission- 
ary. It was needful for the organization of the class that 
at least five should express a willingness to become mis- 
sionaries. 

When Dr. Warren put the question, I told him just 
how I felt at that time; that I desired and was willing to 
go wherever God and the church most needed me, but 
that I could not jiledgo myself to go to a Spanish-speaking 
country. lie rf|ilic(l iliat in siiulyiug tlic language. I 
would place myself iiinlrr im oliligatious, and with that 



i 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 271 

understanding I entered the class. Dr. Warren, it seems, 
sent my name to the Mission Rooms, as one of the Spanish 
class about to graduate. 

The secretaries then sent a form of blank recommenda- 
tions to be filled out and signed by the faculty and pre- 
siding elder, which, if satisfactory, would make my ap- 
pointment sure, as another man was needed in Mexico. 

The appointment is not of my seeking; indeed, as far as 
my preference is concerned, I should choose to be nearer 
home, but I want to decide the question in such a way as 
to please God and get most glory to his name. Now what 
I want to know is : are you willing to give me to the Lord 
for this work, trusting him to take care of my life and 
make me useful? As far as my own impressions of duty 
are concerned, after praying over the matter I feel as 
though I ought to enter this open door. 

A speedy decision is necessary, as the steamer in which 
John Butler sails from New York, leaves on the 25th of 
April, and I would be expected to go at that time. You 
are, no doubt, aware that his father, Dr. William Butler, 
is superintendent of the Mexico Mission. . . . 

Boston, March 23, 1874. 
My dear Parents : 

I feel as though I have a very difficult task to perform 
this morning in writing as I must. I wrote the inclosed 
letter last Wednesday, but felt a great hesitation in send- 
ing it, and so waited, hoping to receive a letter from you 
that might give me some light. Friday I had a letter from 
Dr. Eddy, saying that they had received sufficient recom- 
mendations, and that I was appointed. An immediate 
decision was necessary, and yet I hardly knew how to 
make it without consulting you. But I remembered a 
letter of mother's, written some time ago, in which she 
said in substance that she would not wish to deter me in 



L'72 THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 

tlu' jijiili <»r duty. Tliou^li 1 knew it would be hard for 
lier, I I'ell sui-e that she would have strength to accept my 
derision. I laid the whole nialler before God that niglit, 
and waited lon^ to know his will. The result is that, with 
the li<ilit 1 n(»w lia\(', 1 I'cel it my duly to accept the ap- 
jiointnient, and j^o at (lie time set for Brothei- Butler's de- 
parture, April 25. I sliali see Dr. lOddy this week and 
talk with him, and if anythinu should occur in God's 
I»ro\iden(e, to chanj^e this <lecisi(»n, I shall most gladly 
accept it. If not, I shall be ordained deacon and elder 
next Sunday, at the Providence Conference, and reach 
home by the middle of next week, April 1 or 2. I shall 
have at least three weeks at home. 

My dear father and mother, the hardest thing I have 
had to get over in this decision, has been the disapj^oint- 
ment to our hopes of being not far separated. I have been 
greatly strengthened from above, or I could not have done 
it. I have God's promise that you, too, shall have grace 
sufiicient. 

We must not forget the bright features of this decision. 
Mexico is only two weeks' distant from home, and may 
soon be brought much nearer by increased facilities for 
communication. We can exchange letters every three 
weeks. I feel great consolation because you have all the 
other children near you, and 1 know they will be a com- 
fort and joy to you. It is a grand work to which I go and, 
by God's blessing and strength, I hope to be very useful 
in it. I should like to have a letter from you before I 
start for home. I think I might receive one even if it were 
mailed as late as Friday. \\"\\\\ much love to all, 

Your son, 

C. W. Drebs. 

Nothing occurred to change the decision, and the plans 
outlined in this letter were carried out as arranged. 



THIRTEEN YEAKS IN MEXICO 273 

On his departure from the seminary a farewell supper 
was given in his honor by a few of his most intimate 
friends. An account of it appeared in the Western Chris- 
tian Advocate of the following week, for which we are in- 
debted to Ilev. Davis Clark, one of the number present on 
this occasion. It shows the interest of these young men in 
the new missionary : 

"Rev. C. W. Drees, an alumnus of the Ohio Wesleyan 
University, and recently a graduate of the Boston Theo- 
logical Seminary, was ordained deacon and elder at the 
late session of the Providence Conference, and appointed 
missionary to Mexico. Brother Drees left Boston on the 
23d ult., to make a brief visit to his relatives at Xenia and 
Cincinnati. Before his departure his more intimate 
friends in the seminary tendered him an impromptu 'fare- 
well.' A supper was ordered in a neighboring restaurant, 
which, though accordant with the j)roverbial slimness of 
divinity students' purses, was yet liberal and substantial. 
Fourteen sat down to the table, all but three of whom 
were 'Ohio boys,' and all but four alumni of the Ohio 
Wesleyan. Informal speeches were made expressive of 
affectionate interest in Brother Drees, and hopes for his 
safetj' and success in the new field of labor, which, in the 
light of recent events, threatens to be rather perilous. 
After singing ^Shall Ave gather at the river,' the party 
adjourned to the seminary parlor, where prayer was of- 
fered for the outgoing missionary. Brother Drees will 
sail from New York the latter part of the present month, 
in company with Kev. John W. Butler, son of Dr. Butler, 
now in Mexico, who has also been appointed to that 
Mission." 

On Mr. Drees's departure for Mexico, a friend and 
neighbor who was a contributor for many years to the 
Ladies' Repository and other publications, sent him the 
following lines from her i^en : 



274 THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

God speed thee, youthful champion of the Cross, 
Mid scenes untried, and conflicts ever new; 

Thou'st counted all thy earthly hope but dross, 
Thy blessed mission gladly to pursue. 

Thy Captain called thee, in the dawn of life, 
And placed thy name upon His warriors' roll, 

And nobly thou'st sustained the arduous strife 
Which Satan wages for each ransomed soul. 

And now He summons thee to climes afar. 

To raise His banner on a foreign shore, 
Thy guiding light shall be sweet Bethlehem's star. 

Thy priceless guerdon life for evermore. 

God speed thee on thy mission, honored one. 
And nerve thy arm, wher'er thou may'st sojourn, 

To hold the Cross of the ascended Son 
O'er human victims from their idols torn. 

And led to Jesus by the story sweet. 

Of Cross and Manger and Redemption's fount, 

Until the joyous victory is complete. 
And ransomed heathen laid at Calvary's mount. 

Then fare thee well, though loved and mourned and gone, 
Round many a heart thy memory shall twine. 

And many a prayer ascend the Eternal Throne 
That God's best blessings may be ever thine. 

Dear Charley : 

We shall probably never meet again on earth. Before 
you return, in all human probability, I shall have passed 
away. Pray for me that we meet in the upper home. 

Your sincere friend, 
E. F. Wilson. 

(In spite of the sorrowful tone of this last stanza, the 
writer had the plea.sure of meeting the young missionar}' 
on at least one return to his home on furlough.) 



THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 275 

A reception and farewell was given him in his home 
church, which was largely attended not only by the mem- 
bers of the congregation, but also by representatives from 
all the churches in the city. Several ministers as well as 
various prominent laymen spoke in most cordial and af- 
fectionate terms, and universal interest was manifested 
in the young missionary's departure for his distant field 
of labor. 

(Bishop Henry W. Warren) 

Denver, Colo., December 22, 1886. 

Dear Brother Drees : 

Welcome to your own home! You come back in honor 
to that which you left at the call of duty. Give my 
heartiest love to the mother of such a son, and to the wife 
of such a husband. 

Most assuredly you will have my heartiest support in 
the future as in the past. Bishop Fowler has told you all 
my plans and thought, in his plans and thought. I have 
been away from home or my reply would have gone sooner. 
My travel in this country will foot up to 20,000 miles this 
year. 

All the family loves you and Mrs. Drees, and all wish 
you God speed and great success. 

Sincerely yours, 

H. W. Warren. 

(Rev. J. M. Reid) 

New York, March 28, 1887. 
Dear Brother: 

I am greatly gratified at your purpose to make a dem- 
onstration on the occasion of the departure of Brother 
Drees for his new field in South America. I will say to 
you that the administration of this brother has been of 



liTd THIRTEEN YEARS IN MEXICO 

siuli :i wise character, as to commend itself without ex- 
ceptions to tlie bishops and Missionary Board. 

He now <ines to a more distant and more discouraging 
fiehl ; that is, one in wliich llie work does not advance so 
rapidly as it is iKhnnciug in Mexico. It is one of our 
oldest missions, and lie will have to overcome very many 
old traditions that have j^Mtliered about the Mission, that 
are in the way of its highest prosperity. But he is so 
geiille, and yet so firm, thai 1 believe he is eminently 
adapted to this work. 

I would suggest, if yuw could do i1. that in some way or 
oilier the history of the work in Mexico should be pre- 
sented at that meeting in brief, and the history of our 
work in South America. But, of course, the address of 
Brother Drees, himself, and words from his wife, if that 
could be obtained, would be the chief feature of the 
evening. 

I myself am very much impressed by the prayers that 
may be ottered, especially for their safety in the outgoing, 
and for their success in the field. Some one of the right 
kind appointed, and the whole congregation invited to 
unite in prayer, wonhl gi\e this a deep solemnity. These 
are hints about the meeting that 1 expect would occur to 
yonr own mind. Indeed, theie is nothing about this mat- 
ter of meeting thai would not likely occur to you after a 
little thought. But as you h;i\c been kind enough to ask 
for some suggestions, I simply write these lines without 
being able really to make any suggestions so good as those 
which will come to youi- own luMrt. 

I ho})e very much that you will fuinish the papers with 
a good report of this nicj'ling. If you desii-e it, I would 
appeal- at tluit meeting by biief letter; yet letters of that 
sort are not p;nlicularly interesting on such an occasion. 

Triily yours, 
J. M. Reid, Corresponding Secretary. 



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